AN armed robber wielding a 12-inch knife told a shop worker “if you call the police I will cut you up” in an attack at a corner shop on Monday evening.

One was carrying the foot-long blade, and they made demands for cash and cigarettes.

The two suspects then made off with money and cigarettes, worth a total of around £180, leaving the shop assistant “shaken up”.

Shop owner Michael Haylock, 25, said this is the second time armed robbers have attempted to steal from his shop in the past three years.

He said: “The two men came in and one had a large knife, about ten to 12 inches long.

“The one who had a knife was a white male, and the other man was Asian and was holding a bag to put the cash in.

“They said give me all your money, and then said give me all your cigarettes.

“After they stole money and cigarettes the unarmed man left, but the one with the knife stayed to get some cigarette rolling paper.

“They probably got away with about £65 in cash, about £100 worth of cigarettes, and a box of rolling paper worth £10 to £15.

“I wasn’t there at the time, it was one of my part-time assistants who was behind the till when they came.

“Obviously he is quite shaken up following the incident, but we have CCTV footage of what happened.

“You can see on the CCTV the man with the knife gets to the door and freezes for about ten to 15 seconds, then he said to my staff member if you ring the police in the next ten seconds I will come back and cut you up.

“My staff member rang the police as soon as he could after the man left.”

Mr Haylock said he is now looking to further increase the security at his shop to try and prevent further robberies.

“Now I guess it’s just a case of upping the security to try and stop this from happening again,” he added.

“We have an alarm, security shutters and CCTV at the store, but there is only so much you can do when someone comes in with a knife.

“I’m looking at maybe installing some outdoor security lighting or a panic button behind the till.

“It was my birthday on Saturday, so this hasn’t been the ideal birthday present really.

“With Christmas approaching too it also means this kind of things are more prone to happening, unfortunately.”

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson confirmed they are investigating the incident.

He said: “Police are investigating a report of a robbery which is said to have happened at around 7.20pm on Monday.

“Enquiries were continuing yesterday and anyone with information which may assist is asked to contact Bradford District CID on 101, quoting crime reference number 13180618827, or by using the live chat facility on the West Yorkshire Police website.

“Information can also be reported anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”

Councillor David Warburton (Labour, Wyke) condemned the robbery.

He said: “It’s a terrible situation that the owners finds himself in.

“I’ve had contact from the police and they are investigating this, and hopefully they will be able to catch the perpetrators and get them before court and get them sent to prison as quickly as possible.

“This is an isolated incident, but at this time of the year people have to be on their guard, and we will do all we can to protect local businesses and local people.”

When an armed robber last tried to steal from Mr Haylock’s shop in January 2016, he left empty-handed after Mr Haylock confronted him in the store, before barricading himself and his staff in the back room.

That time, he had spotted the balaclava-clad robber, who was armed with a four-inch blade, hiding behind the till on CCTV so rushed out to confront him, but when the man brandished his blade and started demanding cash he retreated to the back room for his own safety.

Back in 2016, the masked man eventually fled empty-handed.

It was this incident which first prompted Mr Haylock to beef up security at his shop, which he has run since June 2015.

Mr Haylock’s store was also the victim of more trouble in July 2017, when gangs of youths repeatedly raided his shop, targeting the shop six or seven times in two days, stealing £100 worth of alcohol and sweets on three different raids in the 48-hour period.