Dairy robbed at knifepoint
Police are on the hunt for a man, believed to be in his 20s, after a dairy in Blenheim was robbed at knifepoint early on Friday morning.
The suspect, who was armed with a knife, accosted a staff member at the Hospital Store On The Spot dairy about 7am, the owner of the store Yun He said.
The man made off with the till, the owner said.
Yun He said the suspect entered the store and told the staff member he had forgotten his Eftpos card, but left when a customer came in.
When the customer left, the man returned and threatened the staff member with a knife.
The woman behind the counter ran out the back of the store to find Yun He, at which point the man picked up the till and ran off with it.
The suspect is believed to have crossed Maxwell Rd before heading towards Arthur Baker Place.
He was wearing a grey sweatshirt with a dark coloured hood covering his face and Adidas track pants.
The robbery marked the first time the store had been robbed in Yun He’s four and a half years as owner.
The store reopened for business later in the morning, despite Yun He saying he did not feel safe
‘‘We have to be open for our customers.’’
However, the cameras offered a small comfort as police could use CCTV footage, Yun He said.
Neighbour Melanie Old said she was asleep when the robbery took place.
‘‘I didn’t hear anything . . . I was still asleep,’’ she said.
This was the first time something like this had happened in all the years she had lived near the store, she said.
Old said she was worried about the woman behind the counter.
‘‘I was more concerned about her than anything else,’’ she said.
Acting Detective Sergeant Jason Hillgrove said
police were investigating the incident and talking to neighbours who may have seen or heard something.
He urged anyone who saw anything unusual in the area this morning to contact the Blenheim Police Station on 03 578 5279.