An armed robber threatened shop staff and stole cash from a till and safe – including hundreds of pounds of charity money.
The man was wearing a balaclava and wielding a knife when he entered The Village Store on Knutsford Road, Wilmslow, on
Sunday.
He made the female shop worker open the till before taking all the money.
He ordered her to the safe in the kitchen at the back of the shop and forced her to open it, before emptying the contents.
A second shop worker, also a woman, followed the pair into the kitchen when she realised something was going on.
The man then fled on foot along Knutsford Road.
Shop owner Kate Boon, 68, said around £2,000 was taken – including £700 raised through raffles, collections and competitions for various charities.
Kate, pictured, who owns the shop with partner Graham Hurd, 65, has spoken about the ordeal her young staff faced.
She said: “It’s absolutely disgusting and makes me so angry that scum like this can steal money raised for charity.
“Our customers are very generous and we worked hard to raise that money.
“It’s appalling that he targeted a small shop like mine when we are already struggling.
“The girls are traumatised and very shaken, I feel so sorry for them.
“One of them will not work for us anymore because she is too scared.
“It makes me so angry.”
Detectives are appealing for information following the robbery between 9pm and 9.10pm on Sunday, March 16.
The robber is described as white, around 6ft tall, of stocky build and was wearing a black balaclava tucked into a black jersey turtle neck top, a black sports jacket, black cargo pants, black wool gloves and black boots.
He had blue eyes and is believed to be aged between 25 and 35.
Officers are carrying out house-to-house enquiries and checking CCTV and forensic evidence.
DC Charlotte Astbury said: “Fortunately the members of staff were not injured but they were left extremely shaken by their ordeal.
“We are appealing to anyone who was in the area and witnessed what happened or has information regarding the identity of the offender to come forward.”
Call police on 101 quoting incident number 796 of March 16 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
