A TWENTY-seven-year-old mother is recovering from the shock of facing a gunman who jumped out from behind Christmas trees on the forecourt of the shop where she works.

The man, whose face was masked with a scarf and black woolly hat, silently produced a handgun from under his pullover before raiding the till at P and P Convenience Store in Hurcott Road, Kidderminster. No shots were fired.

Police, who withheld details of the amount of cash taken, are appealing for information and for witnesses to come forward.

Shop owner Pearl Winterburn described her assistant who was alone during the incident at 7.47pm on Thursday as "very stressed and upset".

"I was in Stourport at the time and I rushed back when I heard what happened. She told me when he pulled the gun all she could think was 'I have a five-year-old-daughter'.

"She would have been shutting up at 8 o'clock and was just bringing in the stuff from the front. There were Christmas trees there and he came out from behind them.

"He didn't say anything but just went to the till and tried all the keys and got the money out."

The assistant, who does not want to be named, pressed a "panic button" and the police arrived shortly after the man made off in the direction of the Horsefair.

Mrs Winterburn was back in the shop she has been running for 16 years next morning but admitted she felt "nervous."

Kidderminster Police spokeswoman Caroline Schubert said police were studying CCTV footage which had captured the robber in the shop.

The man was believed to have been aged in his late teens or early twenties. He was slim and about five ft six ins tall with thin features, a pointed nose and sharp cheekbones.

He was wearing blue jeans and a beige waist-length jacket with a dark pencil-line stripe across the shoulders and down the right arm. The scarf was in Aston Villa colours of claret and blue.

Anyone who can help the Police with their inquiries should ring Kidderminster Police on 01562 820888 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.