STAFF at a village supermarket were left shaken after two men burst into the store and threatened them with knives.

The raid at the Co-op in Lavenham took place when the men, armed with kitchen style knives, snatched a till drawer containing a quantity of cash.

They then fled the shop and made off in a red Vauxhall Astra in the direction of Cockfield and Bury St Edmunds.

A spokeswoman for The Co-operative said two of their staff members working in the store at the time had been threatened by the robbers but neither had suffered any injuries during the ordeal.

She said: “The staff members were shaken but unhurt and there were no customers in the store at the time.

“Police are investigating and as with all incidents of this nature, The Co- operative is reviewing its security arrangements at the store.”

Suffolk Police set up a cordon outside the store on Monday night before carrying out inquiries and a search of the area following the raid which happened just after 9.30pm.

A police spokesman said scenes-of-crime officers (SOCOs) had conducted a full examination of the area and would be trawling through CCTV images of the scene as part of their investigation into the crime.

The men are described as white, in their late teens to early 20s, about 5ft 10 tall and of slim build. They were wearing hooded tops with scarves across their faces. Officers are keen to speak to anyone who visited the store during the latter part of the evening.

Anyone who discovers an abandoned till drawer is asked to preserve it for the SOCOs and contact police immediately so it can be recovered for examination.

Anyone with information about this incident should call West Suffolk CID on 01473 613500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.