A would-be robber brandishing a long knife fled empty-handed after a brave Telford postmistress told him to get lost.

She refused to hand over any cash, glared at him and scared him off.

Police are now urging the public to help them to track down the man who targeted the post office attached to Walker’s News & Village Stores in Horsehay, Telford.

The man entered the shop in Woodhouse Lane at 2.30pm yesterday and went to the glass-screened counter of the post office section.

It is the second time in less than a year that the shop, which serves a normally quiet neighbourhood in one of the older parts of Telford, has been targeted.

The postmistress, who declined to be named, said: “The man came up to the counter yesterday afternoon and said he wanted money or else.

“He had a long knife. It looked like the ones they advertise on the television shopping channels, with a blade that will chop through anything.

“I asked him to repeat himself, glared at him and told him: ‘I don’t think so’.

“Off he went straight away. I must have the face of a gorgon to scare anybody off so quickly.”

She said it had all happened within a matter of seconds and did not believe a big fuss should be made about what she felt was a minor incident.

“He was a tall, dark, young man,” she said. “I would say he was in his middle 20s.”

Detective Constable Steve Parton said they were treating the incident seriously.

“We are appealing for anyone who might have seen anything suspicious in the area on or before the time of the robbery,” he said. “Fortunately, no-one was injured.”

Anyone who saw the man  or who knows his identity is asked to phone West Mercia Police on 0300 333 3000.

Last June a man wearing a motorcycle crash helmet and carrying a gun entered the general store part of the building. 

He ordered a woman shop assistant, in her 40s, to open her till and give him cash.

She managed to slip out through the back door to summon help without handing over any money. 

The raider fled on a dark scrambler bike towards Doseley.

By Peter Johnson