A ROBBER made off with just £80… because he turned up when Post Office tills were empty.

The masked robber wore a motorcycle helmet to cover his face during the raid on the Nisa shop in The Highway off Lewes Road in Moulsecoomb at 6am today.

CCTV showed him waiting at a bus stop outside the shop at 6am, then when an early customer had left, went in and demanded cash.

There were two staff members in at the time, but the robber left with the paltry sum because money had not been kept in the tills overnight.

Post Office manager Jackie Johnson said: “He wore a motorbike helmet that was pointed. At first I said to him, ‘you’ll have to take that mask off, this is a Post Office’, before I realised what he was doing.

Also on The Argus: Police 'bitterly disappointed' after sharp rise in drink drive arrests

“He said he wanted money from the Post Office. I said to him ‘you are too early mate’, and opened the till to prove that there was nothing in there.

“So then he demanded cash from the shop tills. He got £81. Our CCTV showed he was waiting outside at the bus stop, and he must have been waiting for a customer to leave.”

Police officers were called to the scene, as there have been reports of a similar robbery at a shop in Lewes Road recently.

They said no weapon seemed to have been used in the robbery.

The news shocked customers. One man outside said: “I was told there had been an armed robbery. I saw police near the Nisa shop. There were two police cars outside the shop.

“Apparently they made off with probably less than £100 and they had used a sawn-off shotgun.”

One woman said: “I can’t remember the last time anything like this happened down here. It is not the sort of thing you expect to hear about.”

Read more on The Argus: Speeding driver killed pensioner at pedestrian crossing

Meanwhile a customer at the bus stop said: “Most Post Offices used to be behind a glass window as a barrier, but not any more.

“So an opportunist will think ‘I will take my chances’.”

In a statement police said: “At 6am a man entered the Nisa Local convenience store at The Highway in Moulsecoomb.

“He threatened staff and stole a small quantity of cash from a till. No weapon was seen and nobody was hurt.

The man was described as white, 5ft 10ins tall. He wore a dark black mask over his mouth, and a dark navy blue hoody."

Anyone with information is asked to report it online or call 101, quoting 155 of 04/01. 

Have you been affected by crime? Share your story: Call the crime reporter on 01273 021383, email: aidan.barlow@theargus.co.uk or add him on Facebook: Aidan Barlow Argus.