POLICE are looking for an armed robber who stole £89 from the till at Sweet Thoughts card shop in Burnley town centre.

The thief struck at about 12.15pm on Saturday despite the fact that there was a customer in the shop and crowds of people in the nearby bus station area.

The robber handed a note to the woman assistant demanding the contents of the till and said he had a gun.

At first the woman refused but he then reached inside his zip-up jacket and produced what could have been a gun wrapped in a polythene bag. The frightened woman handed over some cash but he demanded more and reached into the till.

He spoke only in whispers and a customer at the back of the shop did not realise a robbery was taking place.

Outside the shop the offender turned right into Red Lion Street and disappeared among the Saturday shoppers.

He is described as 30-35 years, 5ft 6ins tall, proportionally built and with a dark continental-type complexion.

He has short and neat swept back dark hair and light coloured eyes. At the time of the offence he had a couple of days growth of stubble on his face and was wearing a grey/green fleece zip-up jacket and dark trousers.

Police are studying town centre security cameras to see if he has been caught on film and are asking anyone who saw the incident or who can help with inquiries to contact Burnley CID on 01282-425001.

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