This is the terrifying moment a masked robber carrying a large kitchen knife held up a corner shop and demanded money.

St John’s Mini Market, in St John’s Avenue, Sittingbourne, was targeted on Saturday.

A young member of staff was told to open the till by the man brandishing the blade, who was also holding a bag.

Manager Sekar Geyasekaran said: “The guy that came in had everything covered – you couldn’t see anything but his eyes.

“He asked for the door to be locked and walked to the till.”

He was dressed head to toe in black, with a scarf over his mouth and a hood up – the only distinctive feature being his trainers, which were dark blue with three white stripes.

The man asked for the till to be opened but the employee, who was said to have been left very shaken by the ordeal, could not open it.

“He also took cigarettes and three bottles of vodka as well as more than £100 from under the till,” added Mr Geyasekaran.

He left boxes scattered across the floor after raiding the cabinet behind the counter.

Mr Geyasekaran was not at the shop at the time but had a call from police saying something had happened at the shop.

He said: “They locked it for me and told me not to open in the morning so they could get fingerprints.

“They took statements and CCTV footage, too.”

He has run the shop for four years and said nothing like this had ever happened before.
“We have all the kids coming in and I’ve never had a problem,” he added.

“The customers are all shocked, too. They don’t want this sort of thing happening in their area.”

Witnesses reported seeing a large police presence and the area being cordoned off with tape.
A police spokesman said no injuries were reported and investigations continued.

If you can help, call 01795 419119 quoting crime reference XY/042021/17.