A MASKED knifeman escaped with cash after holding up a grocery store.

Detectives said a man wearing a balaclava and carrying a silver six inch knife burst into Glen View Stores, Glen View Road, Burnley, at 10pm yesterday and demanded a shop worker hand over the takings.

A spokesman for Burnley CID said: "The shop worker was in the process of closing for the day. The front door of the shop was still open and he was getting himself sorted and counting the takings.

"At that point a man entered the shop wearing a balaclava and demanded money."

The robber then fled with around £300. Police were due to carry out house to house enquiries in the area and study footage from the shop's close circuit television cameras.

One of the shop's co-owners said today: "I spoke to the man who was working in the shop after the robbery last night.

"He is thinking that maybe he should have tackled the robber. I think he feels he should have just stood up to him, but in situations like that you never know what is going to happen."

According to the owner, the shop was targeted by robbers nine months ago. Police said today that at this stage they were not linking the two crimes.

The CID spokesman added: "The whole incident lasted about 30 seconds.

"The store worker seemed alright after the robbery and did not seem to be too shaken. He was pretty calm and had kept himself together."

The robber is described as white, early 20s, 5ft 6ins to 5ft 11ins, medium build, wearing a black balaclava and also wearing a dark coloured waist length jacket, black coloured gloves and dark trousers.