A thief threatened to cut a shop assistant "to pieces" if he tried to stop him leaving with cash grabbed from a till.
The ugly threat came during the second robbery to happen within 48 hours at the Spar store, in West Street, Rochford.
The latest incident happened at 5pm yesterday when a man walked in the shop and snatched £60 in cash from the till drawer.
He delivered the chilling threat as staff moved to stop him leaving the shop.
Sgt Kevin Diable-White said: "Those working at the time tried to grab the money back from the man but stopped when he said 'leave me alone or I will cut you to pieces'. It was a nasty threat which he may well have carried out." The culprit is described as white, 5ft 9in tall, with dark hair and stubble. He wore a baseball cap with an England emblem on it, a light-coloured top and denim jacket.
The crime comes within two days of a virtually identical incident at the store on Saturday at 9.15pm.
By midnight on Saturday, a man and woman were arrested by the police in connection with the robbery - the woman was released without charge while the man was bailed until July 2.
Anyone with information on either crime should call Rayleigh police on 01268 775533.
Published Tuesday, June 3, 2003
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