A robber held a screwdriver to a terrified shop assistant's throat as his accomplice stole money from the store's safe and till.
Police have now launched a hunt for the two men who struck at Alldays, in Benfleet High Road.
The pair sneaked in the shop via its back door and demanded the female worker gave them cash and the store's CCTV tape. She was frozen with fear after one robber held a screwdriver to her neck.
Crime reduction officer Jason Sculthorpe said: "They got her to open the safe and took around £300 in pound coins. One of them got into the till drawer and took £211. The woman was petrified by what happened. She was so shaken she could hardly speak."
The two men make off in a white Ford Fiesta.
PC Sculthorpe added: "We hope to speak again with the woman who suffered the ordeal at the shop."
Published Tuesday, February 25, 2003
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