A LONE woman working at a Worcester petrol station was held up at knifepoint yesterday.

The robbery took place at the BP petrol garage, in Whittington Road, Whittington, at about 7pm yesterday when the thief waved the knife at the lone worker before taking the contents of the till and running off towards the Oak Apple pub.

Garage manager Paul Kelly would not reveal the identity of the member of staff involved in the ordeal, but said it was a woman in her 20s.

The robber - who masked his mouth and nose with a beige scarf - entered the petrol station, brandished a knife and demanded the woman hand over the cash.

"A few hundred pounds was in the till at the time, which is not a lot of money compared to a day's takings," said Mr Kelly.

"We advise all staff not to keep more than £100 in the till at any one time.

"My member of staff was very shaken but, after a couple of hours with the police, she'd calmed down and went home and has said she'll be back at work next weekend."

Mr Kelly said it was one of scores of incidents to have taken place at the troubled spot.

"I've been working here for 18 or 19 years and this sort of thing isn't uncommon," he said.

He added he wasn't sure how many times the garage had been burgled, but recalled a knifepoint robbery about a year ago.

"I don't know what to do to stop this from happening," he said.

"We've put shutters up at night and that stopped the burglaries but, what more can we do? If somebody is determined, they'll find a way of getting in."

The robber was described as a white male, aged about 25, more than 6ft tall, wearing a beige jacket, beige baseball cap and jeans.

If anyone recognises his description, or saw anything suspicious at the petrol station before, during or after the robbery, they are asked to call Worcester Police on 08457 444888, quoting 418S/230105.