Two men are being hunted by police after apparently threatening a shopkeeper at knifepoint yesterday afternoon.

One of the attempted robbers held a knife up to the shop owner’s throat but left empty-handed after she and her husband refused to hand over any money.

The pair, who were white and wore cloth masks over their faces, entered the M&B Newsagents on the corner of Rosebery Road and Garfield Road in Gillingham, shortly after 3pm.

The shop is owned by Karen and Dave Gentle, who spent thousands on updating security at the shop after a raid in 2012, when an armed robber fled with more than £1,000.

Yesterday after the incident, the pair fled empty-handed after Mrs Gentle refused to hand them any money, despite being threatened by one of them with a knife.

Mr Gentle said: “Karen was brave. They held the knife up to her throat and threatened her and tried to put his fingers in the till.

“I ran from the back and shut the till on him and he ran away empty handed. Karen is OK, she doing all right but it is a bit of a shock.

"At first she thought they were joking, they were white druggy types wearing cloth masks.”

After fleeing the shop the pair then apparently ran off towards Hillyfields park.

Mr and Mrs Gentle refused to give up on their business after they were targeted by an armed robber several years ago when an assistant was threatened at knifepoint.

At the time, the robber fled with more than £1,000.

Instead of giving up the business, less than a year after the couple turned the newsagents around following a £150,000 refit.

The refurbishment resulted in the shop being three times bigger after the couple knocked through to their home next door and stepped up security with twice as many CCTV cameras.

The business has been in their family for more than 25 years.

A spokesman for Kent Police said: “Kent Police was called at 3.10pm on Monday, April 13, to a report of an attempted robbery at a commercial premises in Garfield Road, Gillingham.

“Inquiries into the incident are ongoing.”

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