A REWARD of £1,000 has been offered for information following an armed robbery at a card shop in York.

Stephen Kane, the owner of Cardland on Allerton Drive, Nether Poppleton, has put up the reward in a bid to help York Police following the incident which happened at about 4.45pm on Friday January 2.

The offender brandishing a knife entered the shop and ordered the female shop assistant to open the till. He told her he would harm her if she did not co-operate.

He reached inside the till and made off on foot with an amount of cash.

Despite police enquiries following the incident, detectives said they are still awaiting a breakthrough to identify a suspect.

Mr Kane is hoping that the offer of the reward will assist the investigation and lead to the arrest and conviction of the offender.

He said: “Somebody must know who this man is. If you do, please do the right and decent thing and report it to the police immediately.

“What he did that day was terrifying for our shop assistant and he cannot be allowed to get away with it. “If anyone has information about the robbery or spotted somebody acting suspiciously near the shop or in the Nether Poppleton area on the afternoon of Friday 2 January, then contact York CID.”

DC Mike Avison, who is leading the investigation, said: “It is vital that this offender is arrested as soon as possible, and the offer of the reward by the shop owner could prompt people with information to come forward to the police or pass it on anonymously via Crimestoppers.

“Even the smallest piece of information could be a big help, so please do not hesitate to get in touch if you can assist the investigation.”

The offender is described as white, aged in his late teens, about 5ft 3-4in tall with a skinny build. He spoke with a local Yorkshire accent. He was wearing a black anorak-type jacket with a hood, a black woolly scarf which was wrapped around his face, black woolly gloves, black tracksuit bottoms and lighter coloured trainers.

If you can help the investigation, please contact DC Mike Avison at York CID on 0845 60 60 24 7 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.