Staff at a Bottesford store were threatened with a hammer during a brazen robbery last week, Leicestershire Police said.
The incident, which occurred just after 10:30 am on 12 March, saw a male suspect enter a shop on Grantham Road and brandish the weapon before jumping over the counter. He then proceeded to steal a quantity of cigarettes before fleeing the scene in a silver Volkswagen Tiguan.
No staff members were injured during the ordeal, police confirmed.
Detective Constable Gareth Pallister, leading the investigation, has appealed for witnesses and information.
“While we've already spoken to several people about this incident, I'm appealing to the wider public to identify the person responsible,” Pallister said.
“I'm particularly keen to speak to anyone who saw the silver Volkswagen around the time it happened – and particularly if you have any doorbell, CCTV or dashcam footage. Anything you're able to provide could assist the investigation.”
This violent incident underscores the growing threat faced by retail staff, a trend highlighted in the recently released 2025 ACS Crime Report.
The report, published last week by the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), revealed a record level of theft against convenience store retailers, with an estimated 6.2 million shop theft incidents in the past year, up from 5.6 million the year before.
The report also detailed over 59,000 incidents of violence and 1.2 million instances of verbal abuse in the sector.
