Storekeeper robbed at gunpoint

A LEWES shopkeeper was robbed at gunpoint by a masked raider this week.

Nalini Patel was stacking shelves at Landport Foodstores when the assailant entered the shop and put a gun to her head.

Mrs Patel, 45, was then forced to open the till and hand over about 200 in cash to the robber, who disappeared after running off down Landport Road.

The robbery happened at just before 11am on Tuesday. Police used dogs and a helicopter to undertake a wide-scale search of the area.

A man was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the offence. He was interviewed by the police before being released on bail pending further inquries.

Mrs Patel, whose husband Naresh co-owns the store with his brother Sunny, described the incident as like something out of a movie .

She said: I was in the middle of the shop stacking some shelves. I stood up and turned around and this man was standing there pointing a gun at me.

I suppose I just felt shock when it happened. I just thought no it can t be real . I thought I was seeing something from a movie.

I was quite nervous afterwards because we ve been here for 22 years and nothing like this has ever happened before. It s always so busy in the shop but just for those few seconds it was so quiet.

Sunny, 43, added: I had been tidying up the shop and had just gone out the back to get some fireworks. While I was out a man came in and put the gun straight up to her head and said don t do anything silly and just give me the cash. And don t press any alarm buttons . When I came back out Nalini said to me we ve just been robbed . I could only have been out there for about a minute and a half.

Mr Patel said he gave chase but the robber managed to escape.

I didn t think about the gun or anything, he said, I just chased after him down Landport Road. But he disappeared through a gap in the fence. A man who saw me chase him tried to find him in his car but he had gone.

Mrs Patel said the man was wearing a woolly hat and had a scarf across his face, which covered his nose and mouth. You could only see his eyes, she said. She described the gun as having a three or four inch barrel.

The store was closed for about an hour and a half while police carried out investigations.

Anybody with information should contact DS Mark Briggs at Eastbourne CID on 0845 6070999.