POLICE in Tavistock are appealing for information after a man armed with a knife threatened staff at a Tavistock travel agents before making off with cash.

The incident happened at Newell's Travel in West Street at about 5.15pm last Thursday.

Carol Foy, of Newell's, said: 'We were just closing up when he came in, grabbed Sharon and started pushing her out the back and shouting at her to get the money, and shouting at me to get off the phone.

'Then he made us very aware he had a knife — he was quite threatening with it.

'We gave him what little cash we had, which was only about £200, and he went — it was all over in five or six minutes.'

Carol said her first reaction on hearing the man shouting at her colleague, Sharon Hudson, was that they were the subject of a prankster.

'I thought maybe she knew him, the way he went straight towards her. It wasn't until I saw her face that I realised she didn't know him,' said Carol.

'Once we saw the knife it was a case of give him the cash and get him out. We just did exactly what he told us to — I must admit, it was a bit terrifying. He pushed us into the cupboard and then he was gone.

'Sharon ran to the phone and was on to the police within 30 seconds of it all happening.'

Carol said the police were at the premises within minutes and were soon interviewing other businesses in West Street. They had also been back to see her and Sharon on several occasions.

Shopkeepers in the area and representatives from the church had also been very supportive since the incident, said Carol.

'A lot of people have come in to say how sorry they were to hear about it.

'The worst thing was thinking about what could have happened — we were just glad that neither of us was on our own. It's just not the sort of thing you expect to happen around here,' she said.

The intruder is described as being white, approximately 5ft 6ins, in his late 30s, of slight build and unshaven.

He may have had a Liverpool accent. He was wearing a baseball cap, a grey hooded top, trousers and sunglasses.

DC Dominic Waites, of Tavistock Police, said: 'This was a very unusual incident for Tavistock — I can't recall the last time I've heard of a crime of this nature in the town.

'I believe it was an isolated incident and I suspect the man has now left the area.'

DC Waites praised the staff at Newell's for acting 'completely correctly' and stressed that the travel agency did not keep large quantities of cash on the premises.

DC Waites said: 'This incident occurred between 5.15pm and 5.30pm in the evening. The man would have left the shop in a hurry — somebody would have seen him come out or may have seen him get into a car.

'Anyone with information may either help solve this crime or could help prevent it happening to someone else.'

Anyone who may be able to help police with their enquiries should call DC Waites on 08452 777444 and quote crime reference JT/098/947.