Shop worker held at knifepoint by robbers
THESE dramatic CCTV images show armed robbers who burst into a shop and stole over £600 after holding a terrified 21-year-old woman at knifepoint.
Police are appealing for witnesses to the attack, which happened in Co Down on Saturday evening.
The lone female shop worker pressed the panic button at Doherty's Costcutters at Scarva Street, Loughbrickland, to alert her boss and the police as soon as she saw the men brandishing the kitchen knives.
In a matter of minutes the robbers made off with the day's takings as well as around 100 worth of cigarettes, just weeks after the premises were broken into and gas cylinders stolen.
Although the young shop worker was too distressed to speak, manager Siobhan Barker said that her first concern was for the safety of her staff.
"When I got here on Saturday evening the poor wee girl was just in hysterics," she told the Banbridge Leader.
"She just kept saying 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry' and I told her I didn't care about the money or the shop as long as she was OK."
Mrs Barker, who had been out for dinner with her family when the panic button alerted her, said she cried while replaying the CCTV footage for police.
She said: "I'm so glad we had the CCTV and I really hope it helps the police to catch these men.
"But I just broke down when I looked back at the footage. It was distressing having to watch a good and loyal staff member being subjected to such a frightening ordeal."
Mrs Barker had reported a suspicious-looking car outside the 54-year-old family-run business twice in the previous week and said she thinks it is likely the thieves had been watching the shop in the run-up to the robbery.
"The previous Saturday it was my husband working in the shop," she said.
"It is telling that they robbed us when there was a young girl working on her own.
"A customer had left the shop seconds before the thieves came in. I would say it's likely they were checking the place out and knew they could come in with their knives acting the big men."
The thieves are described as aged in their mid-20s. One of the men was of tall, thin build and wore a purple/blue waist-length coat, a white hooded jumper, denim trousers and a yellow belt.
The second was of stocky build and was wearing a light coloured Adidas jumper with red stripes.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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