A masked man armed with a knife who attempted to rob a Brentwood shop was stopped after he was attacked with boxes of beer.

The man approached a female member of staff at the Nisa Store, in Blackmore Road, in Kelvedon Hatch on Sunday, at about 5.15pm.

She was serving a customer at the time, and he ordered her to open the till. As he brandished a knife at her and the customer the manager rushed out from the storeroom and started throwing boxes of canned beer at the man who then fled empty-handed.

Investigating officer DC Jo Phillips said: “This was an extremely frightening incident for the shop assistant and the customer who both feared for their safety when the man was waving the knife at them.

“The shop manager was in the storeroom when he heard the disturbance and rushed out and threw boxes of beer at the suspect.”

The robber was white, aged between 20 to 30 and about 5ft 9in tall. He was wearing jeans, a black jacket with the hood up and a dark scarf over his face.

Any witnesses or anyone with information about the suspect can contact DC Phillips at Basildon CID Target Offender Team on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.