A CWMBRAN newsagent was robbed at knifepoint last night, with thieves taking cigarettes and money from the till.

Two men, who had covered their faces, walked up to the till at Barters newsagents on Llantarnam Road at about 9.50pm last night as the sole worker at the shop, Simon Davies, was getting ready to shut the shop at 10pm.

Mr Davies was uninjured and the armed man was wearing sunglasses and a balaclava and speaking with a local accent.

Another worker at the shop, Ryan Jones, confirmed the robbers had stolen a number of packets of cigarettes and cash from the till, although he was unable to confirm how many.

He said they had spilt a number of the cigarette packets they had taken on the floor in front of the kiosk and outside the shop as they made their getaway on foot. Mr Jones said police had taken away CCTV footage from four cameras based around the shop, which employs four people.

Mr Jones said the owner of the shop, Andrew Barter, only left the country on Monday for a short holiday in Spain at his parents’ house but was returning to Cwmbran as quickly as possible.

A man who lives a few doors down from the shop and wanted to remain anonymous said police had asked him whether he had heard anything at about 10.30pm last night but that he had not noticed anything unusual. He said: “We have lived here for 32 years. This the first time anything like this has happened.”

Anyone with any information about the robbery are asked to contact Gwent Police on 101 quoting log number 525 17/2/2014.