SHOPKEEPERS have told of their fear after hooded men targeted a convenience store.

Three men tried to rob the One Stop shop in Chandler's Ford as two female staff opened up but ran off empty handed after the alarms went off.

They forced their way in and pushed one of the women to the floor. The men wore hoods and had their faces covered. They ran off towards Chalvington Road.

Although unhurt, the two members of staff were left shaken and the store was temporarily sealed off by police.

Witnesses told how numerous police cars were at the scene while forensic investigators and a police dog combed the shop and surrounding area for clues.

Business owners told of their shock at what had happened in what they said was usually a fairly crime free quiet area.

The men entered the shop, in Bournemouth Road, at 5.43am yesterday but abandoned their plans and ran off.

Charles Baynham, who owns the Charles Baynham butchers next door, said he understood three men had tried to raid the store as the two female staff were opening up.

They managed to raise the alarm he understood by pressing a panic button.

The women, one thought to be in her 60s and the other in her 40s, were shaken up by what happened, he said.

“The whole place has been cordoned off - I lost count of how many police there were,” he added.

He said there had been burglary incidents over the years in the area.

Many residents and businesses recalled the shooting of two armed robbers by police outside the HSBC bank, which happened just down the road, in 2007.

Mark Nunes, 35, and Andrew Markland, 36, were killed as they tried to rob a G4S courier threatening him with a gun.

In 2011, a coroner ruled that they had been lawfully killed.

Rachel Ford, in her 30s, of Titchfield, stylist at hair salon His & Kids across the road, said: “It does concern us. It's a little unnerving as we're females as well.

“I feel for them it's terrible.

“It makes you think that people are observing what's going on and they must know when they open and close.”

Fellow shop worker Teresa Adams, who works at The Munch Box shop across the road, said: “It's worrying because you don't know what people have got these days - knives and guns - they could be carrying something, you don't know.”

Staff told the Daily Echo they could not speak about what had happened.

A spokesman for One Stop confirmed it was aware of an incident and colleagues at the store were helping police with their investigation.

Any witnesses or anyone with information is asked to contact DC Andrew Spooner on 101.