MASKED robbers threatened a shopkeeper with a knife and stole more than £600 from Star Newsagents, Greenway Parade, Chesham, last Saturday.

Former army warrant officer Keith Brockhill, 61, pressed a panic button to alert police after one robber produced a six-inch Bowie knife and ordered him to open his shop's safe.

Mr Brockhill said: "I took a couple of paces backwards saying I can't open it. I only have the key to lock it. As I opened the cupboard to get it, the other one saw I had cash trays for the tills in it and pulled them out. I moved to my right and pushed the panic button."

The attackers then fled. Both were white and wore balaclavas. The man carrying the knife, which had a brown handle and brass studs, is about 6ft with broad shoulders.

He wore a shiny black bomber jacket, black trousers with a crease down the front, black footwear and a balaclava with holes for the eyes and mouth but not the nose. The other man was 5ft 11in and of medium build. He wore almost identical clothing to his accomplice and black woollen gloves.

Police particularly want to hear from anyone who saw a black saloon car driving past the rear of the shops shortly before the incident.

Anyone who may have information on the incident should contact Detective Sergeant Mick Cronin on (01494) 736666.

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