A HAVE-A-GO Felixstowe shopkeeper today told how he fought off a knife-wielding robber from his store by beating him with a table.Shop owner Michael Isaacs, 53, said: "I'd just got out the back to make myself some toast as I'd been working since 7.

A HAVE-A-GO Felixstowe shopkeeper today told how he fought off a knife-wielding robber from his store by beating him with a table.

Shop owner Michael Isaacs, 53, said: "I'd just got out the back to make myself some toast as I'd been working since 7.30am when I heard someone come into the shop and shout 'Mick'.

"When I went back in to the shop there was a man standing there in a balaclava waving a 10-inch carving knife at me.

"He was shouting 'Give me the money!'. When I refused he came right up to the counter and waved the knife in my face."

Mr Isaacs shoved the piles of papers that were laying on the counter at the man, which then gave him enough time to get to the phone and dial 999. As he did so the robber came round behind the counter and grabbed the till.

Mr Isaacs said: "He grabbed the till and wrenched all the wires out of the wall. He tried to run off with it but I picked up the table from next to the counter and started bashing him with it.

"He got halfway across the shop and then fell over and dropped the till. After that he just got up and legged it out of the shop."

The man did not get away with any cash and fled from the shop down Margaret Street.

Mr Isaacs, who lives above the shop, said: "I was scared but it didn't really seem real. I only remembered afterwards that I've got a panic button under the till but I didn't think to use it. It all just happened so quickly."

The robbery took place at Michael's stores in Margaret Street at around 10am on Saturday morning.

The shop closed for around four hours while police visited the scene but was open again by 2.30pm.

Mr Isaacs said: "I was a bit dubious about opening up again in case he comes in again and I don't realise but I'm not going to let it stop me working."

Mr Isaacs believes the offender was white but says that he didn't really have a chance to get a good description of the man as he had other things on his mind and everything happened so quickly.

He said: "He wore a black balaclava so I couldn't get a good look at him. I'd say he was about 6ft, of slim build and in his early 20s."

A police spokesman said they would urge anyone who was in the area at the time, or who may have seen the robber fleeing, to come forward as they may hold vital information. They should contact Suffolk police on 01473 613500.