A ROBBER brandished a knife as he stole from a terrified newsagent in broad daylight.

The balaclava-clad man stormed into Yunus Bangi's Livesey News, on Livesey Branch Road, Blackburn, at 3pm today.

It was the third newsagent robbery in the area this month. Police are linking the first two and were today trying to establish if the latest raid was also carried out by the same man.

The robber threatened staff with a knife, before making off towards Heys Lane with cash.

Previous knifepoint robberies were carried out at Morgans Off Licence, Livesey Branch Road on Monday, October 15 and Number One News, Gib Lane, a week earlier.

It has not yet been confirmed how much money was stolen in yesterday's raid but the previous raids involved hundreds of pounds.

Suleman Khonat, of the Federation of Retail Newsagents, knows the owner of Livesey News well.

Mr Khonat, a former councillor, said: "He has been there for many years, and is very well-known in the area because of the type of shop it is and on such a busy road.

"It's a terrifying thing to happen to a newsagent.

"They are like the centre of the community, but my worry is that this is the third incident like this recently.

"They are all within walking distance of each other."

Today's robber was a white male, aged 25 to 30, wearing jogging pants, blue top, and a blue balaclava. He was about five foot five inches tall, of medium build and spoke in a local accent.

Police are urging anyone in the area who might have seen the man or anything suspicious to call Blackburn police on 0845 1 25 35 45, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.