A SHOP assistant was threatened with a large knife when he tried to stop a customer stealing six cans of lager.

CCTV footage of the incident, which took place at 7pm on Monday evening at Cost Cutters in Bellevue Road, Ramsgate, has been passed to police.

Owner Dale Bradley said the 35-year-old worker tried to stop the thief. He said: "When he confronted the man he pulled up his shirt to reveal a large knife tucked into his waistband and said: 'No, I am taking these', and left.

"There was an obvious threat and my assistant did precisely the right thing by letting him go."

The thief is in his 30s, about 5ft 9in tall, and wore a blue baseball cap with three yellow strips, a grey T-shirt, tracksuit bottoms and trainers.