A NEWSAGENT today spoke of his shock after he fought off a masked raider who threatened him with a gun.

Grandad Ken Renno, 58, was confronted by the man at his shop in Revidge Road, Blackburn, at 8.30pm last night.

He was watching television in the back of the shop when the man calmly walked in and produced the gun.

Mr Renno then challenged the raider with the knife he uses for splitting newspaper bundles, but was disarmed after a tussle. He said: "It was a quiet spell and I didn't think anything untoward when he walked in.

"I just said hello, but then he pulled a gun out. I thought it was a joke, but he produced a bag and ordered me over to the till and I realised it was for real.

"When I got to the till, he demanded cash, even though I told him I didn't keep large amounts of money on the premises.

"We grappled again and he ran off."

Mr Renno, who has run the shop for 11 years, said he had not slept all night as a result of the incident and was very shocked.

Police are now hunting the armed raider, who is white, about about 6ft and well-built and in his early 20s.

He was wearing a black woollen hat with a Manchester United motif, a zip-up black coat and a black scarf across his face.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Blackburn Police on 01254 51212.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.