Shopkeeper punched and threatened with knife during armed raid at South Witham village shop
A shopkeeper has relived the ordeal of an armed raid which saw him punched in the face and threatened with a knife.
Gordon Andrew, 72, and Scott Griffin were working in the South Witham Village Store off High Street when two men wearing black hoodies entered the store at about 6pm on Monday.
“Two guys rushed in,” said Gordon. “One jumped over the counter and the other stayed at the other side. There was a bit of a confrontation.
“One got a knife and threatened me with it.”
Pointing at his chest, Gordon continued: “He had it out in front of me.
“Basically he took the till and tried to take some cigarettes, but he failed at that. Then they just ran out like two greyhounds and disappeared into the night.”
The one that had jumped over the counter took cigarettes, though Gordon is unsure how many were taken.
During the raid £500 was taken from the till.
“You don’t believe it is happening,” Gordon said. “I was given a black eye and punched in the face where I was bruised.
“I only really understood that had happened afterwards.”
Police arrived within minutes, a speedy response Gordon described as ‘absolutely fantastic’.
He said he cannot praise officers highly enough for their investigations, which saw forensic staff travel in from Skegness.
On Tuesday, the shop opened later than usual, after it was tidied up.
Gordon suffered a similar raid when he ran a post office in South Witham, which closed in 2008.
That raid in about 2004 was one of the few crimes of this type to affect the village, other than a charity box being stolen from the shop in High Street some years ago.
“The support my staff and I have had from villagers and friends has been great,” added Gordon. “The attackers are scum and that is also the feeling of the village.”
Co-worker Scott Griffin said he ‘did not want to relive’ the experience by talking about it.
The pair returned to work the following day.
Lincolnshire Police has appealed for information, including any CCTV or dashcam footage people may have from the area at the time.
The attackers, described as slim, were caught on the shop’s CCTV cameras but their hoodies covered their faces.
Police can be contacted by calling 101 quoting the reference 418 of November 4, by e-mailing force.control@lincs.pnn.police.uk, quoting the reference 418, or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
