A SHOP assistant has described how she was threatened at knifepoint by a robber.Clare Copping, 30, was working alone at Foley's Store in Dovercourt, at 7.

A SHOP assistant has described how she was threatened at knifepoint by a robber.

Clare Copping, 30, was working alone at Foley's Store in Dovercourt, at 7.30pm on Wednesday when the robber struck.

She was busy with stock in one part of the store when the man walked in. She went over to the counter and asked him if she could help.

"He just got a knife from under his sleeve and said: 'Give me the money.' I said: 'We haven't got any money.'," said Miss Copping.

"He just ran off. I stood at the door and watched him run down the road. He couldn't run that quick," she added.

She said the man had been in the shop a few times recently with a couple of friends who live nearby, who were in the store shortly before the robbery.

"It was horrible. After he went I stood at the door and cried. You never think it's going to happen to you," said Miss Copping.

The robber was white, aged about 35, 5ft 5ins, slim, with a limp. He had very short brown hair and wore a black jacket and blue jeans.

The man ran off through an alleyway to Oak View, near Abbott Road.

Police are appealing to the public to come forward if they saw the robber either in the shop or making his escape. Anyone with information should call Harwich CID on 01255 241312.

Meanwhile, detectives in Chelmsford are appealing for witnesses after staff at

the One Stop shop in Broomfield Road were robbed at knifepoint at about 11.15pm on Wednesday.

Two men brandished kitchen knives at the staff and forced them into the shop's office. They then stole several hundreds of pounds and phone cards before escaping.

A spokesman for T&S Stores, which owns the One Stop chain, said: "The staff are OK but obviously were shaken up at the time and we will be offering them any support they need over the coming weeks and months.

"If anyone has any information about what happened they should contact the police because these people need to be put behind bars before anyone gets hurt."

Both men were white and about 5ft 10ins tall. One wore a black bomber jacket and had stubble, while his accomplice wore a black hooded top with the number one of the back in white lettering. The pair wore gloves.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: "Witnesses reported seeing the two men at a bus stop near the shop shortly before the incident and officers are keen to speak to anyone who saw them there or after the offence."

Anyone with information should call Chelmsford CID on 01245 491212 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.