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Home Sittingbourne News Article
The owner of a post office has spoken of the terrifying moment he pleaded with an armed robber "not to do anything stupid" when he struck last night.
Praful Jadeja was working alone and stocking shelves at Upchurch newsagents, in Oak Lane, when the balaclava-clad man burst in.
As he turned round, he came face-to-face with the raider, who pointed a gun at him and shouted: "Give me all the money."
The 51-year-old, who has run the business for four years, said: "I said, 'If you're looking for money I'll give you the money, just don't do anything silly or stupid'.
"I have a family - I didn't want anything to happen to me.
"He forced me to go to the till. He was pointing the gun at the front of me and I was backing up to the till. All the time he had the gun pointing at me.
"I then opened the till and he said, 'Just give me whatever you have got - give me all the money'.
"He forced me to go to the till. He was pointing the gun at the front of me and I was backing up to the till. All the time he had the gun pointing at me..." - newsagent owner Praful Jadejar
"I grabbed all the notes and he snatched them from my hand and put them in his pocket and ran off.
"Straight away I rang the police. I was shaking and in shock. It did scare me.
"I don't know where to go from here - I'm so scared at the moment. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before."
Officers were called to the scene at just after 6.30pm yesterday.
It is believed the offender ran off with a second man, who was waiting outside the shop.
Armed police and the force's helicopter were sent at about 7pm to try to locate the pair.
The raider is described as about 6ft, white, wearing denim jeans, a blue hoodie and is said to have had a local accent.
Between £500 and £600 is thought to have been taken, but that figure is yet to be confirmed.
After opening for business as usual today, Mr Jadeja said: "I don't think it's made me want to give it up.
"I usually have staff in the post office until 5.30pm then I'm on my own until we close at 7pm but from now on I'm going to make sure I have a staff member with me up until then."
