The CEO of a company which had £10,000 stolen from a branch in Thetford has said the worker who was confronted by the robber is 'very shaken and upset'.

At 8am on Monday, April 10 the female shop worker, who is in her 30s, was opening up the Small World money transfer shop in Market Place when a man approached her.

Nick Day, CEO of the company which owns 17 branches across the UK, said: 'Our employee went to open up the shop as normal and someone came up behind her.

'They had put something in her back and she did not know if it was a gun or knife.

'He grabbed her around the neck and pushed her to the ground and demanded that she open the safe.'

The woman opened the safe and the man took £10,000 from inside it and fled the scene in the direction of Magdalen Street.

'She [the shop worker] is okay in the sense that she has not been hurt,' said Mr Day. 'But she is very shaken and upset. We are a bit shocked to be honest. It is not an area where you would expect problems. But we operate branches all over Europe so we are not too shocked.

'The most upsetting thing is when it is when the money is stolen and it is physical like this. When they come in your shop and grab an employee and threaten them, these are the most upsetting for everyone.

'Everyone is a bit shaken by it. It is just depressing that we have to deal with these kinds of things.

He added: 'You don't spend your day thinking about all these horrible things that could happen.'

Mr Day said it was the first time they have had issues at the shop - which reopened the afternoon of the robbery.

He added: 'We are still open and working and just hoping the police can find out more quite quickly.'

Small World is payment service provider, offering a way to send and receive money anywhere in the world.

Police have said they are still investigating the incident and are looking for witnesses.

They are asking for anyone who may have seem the incident or noticed a man acting suspiciously in Thetford town centre on Monday, April 10 at around 8am.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Constable Claire Lordan at Thetford CID on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.