A KNIFE wielding masked man robbed a supermarket in Chandler’s Ford during a late night attack.

The man threatened a female employee from Tesco Express, on Pilgrims Close, while she was in the rear yard of the shop.

Producing a knife, the robber then demanded the victim go inside and hand over cash from the till.

After he got the money, the man left the store again at around 10.50pm on Monday night.

Hampshire Constabulary has described the suspect as being white, with blue or green eyes and wearing all black clothing, including hat and gloves, and a white face covering with black lines.

He was also said to be carrying two Tesco bags, which were mainly cream with red handles and had ‘bags for help’ written in blue on the front.

Nearby businesses were left shocked by the incident, with some saying they intended to reinforce security measures as a result.

John Whitfield, manager of The Cleveland Bay, said: “We have always put our staff’s safety as a priority and will now make sure that after a certain time employees don’t go out on their own. Our security has always been there and this incident has made us reinforce how important it is.”

Other businesses said the area had been targeted a number of times recently.

Councillor Tim Groves, Chandler’s Ford ward representative on Eastleigh Borough Council called for more police officers to patrol the area.

He added: “I’m very concerned about this because there has been quite a few incidents like this.

“Shopkeepers need to take their security more seriously. When there is an incident they increase their security but often it soon gets reduced. We also need more of a police presence in this area to stop these incidents. Something has to change to stop this happening.”

If you have any information about this incident, please call 101 quoting 44180343127.

You can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.