Terrified Telford teenager tells of knifepoint petrol station raid shock

Two people burst into the BP Mound Way Service Station in Madeley, Telford, at about 8.40pm on Sunday and made off with £148.57.

Amber Steventon, who quickly pressed the panic button when approached by the thief, said she could sense something was wrong as soon as they entered the petrol station.

One held the door open while the other, whose face was hidden by a scarf, handed over a plastic bag and demanded it be filled with money.

After the bag was filled, the pair left with £148.57. They left another till, items within the shop and staff members belongings.

Amber said the events still haven't sunk in. She said: "I felt unusual as soon as the door opened. It felt like it was going to go off the hinges or something.

"At first I thought he was joking. You just don't think anything this serious is going to happen to you.

"I had to comply, because he was holding a knife to me. All I could think about was doing what he wanted.

"They grabbed the money and went. They didn't seem interested in anything else. My purse was on the side in plain view, but they just left."

David Hathaway, a spokesman for BP parent company MRH Retail, said: "The management of MRH Retail deplore this incident at Mound Way Service Station.

"Thankfully, the member of staff on duty at the time was unharmed, although she was understandably quite shaken by the experience. It is very worrying that the threat of potentially life-endangering violence was used against someone at their place of work.

"The cashier on duty showed good presence of mind. She appears to have dealt with everything very calmly. She was able to hit the panic button before she was under threat, which meant the police arrived not long after the assailants left.

"We would urge anyone with any information about the identity of the perpetrators to provide that information to the police at the earliest opportunity."

The man holding the door was described as wearing a dark top and dark, twin-striped bottoms, while the other person was described as being dressed in a black hooded jacket with fur-trimmed hood and dark trousers.

Detective Inspector Rob Mountford of West Mercia Police said: "I'd like to reassure the local community that we are treating this as an isolated incident.

"We would like to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time and might have seen people matching the descriptions above. We are keeping an open mind as to whether the second suspect is a man or a woman whilst investigations are on-going."

Anyone with information should call police on 101 and quote incident number 694s of October 9. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org