SECURITY is to be stepped up at an off-licence in the centre of Canterbury after it was robbed for the second time in a week.

On both occasions shop staff were subjected to a terrifying knife-point ordeal.

Police are now studying CCTV footage and are investigating whether the two raids are linked.

The first robbery at Thresher's in St Margaret's Street was at about 6pm on Tuesday last week. Then, on Monday, a man entered the shop at about 7.50pm and threatened the female shop assistant with a knife.

He demanded money from the till and about £200 was handed over. The assistant was unharmed. The same woman and a man were in the shop on both occasions with a different one behind the till each time.

Police said the two shop assistants were shocked by their ordeals. The robber involved in Monday's incident is white, in his mid-twenties and about 6ft tall. He was wearing a woolly hat and a dark woolly jumper with a brown scarf over his face.

In the first raid, the man was aged about 30, and was wearing a grey scarf covering the lower part of his face, and a hood. On that occasion between £200 and £300 was stolen.

A spokeswoman from First Quench, the company which owns Thresher's, said: "We are working closely with the local police to resolve this issue and will be reassessing security measures in this shop."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Canterbury police on 01227 762055.