Te Awa Store in Napier robbed: Police release images of armed robbery

A man wielding a machete stole a small quantity of cigarettes from the Te Awa Store in Napier on Tuesday morning. Photo / New Zealand Police

Police are appealing for information after an aggravated robbery at Te Awa Store in Napier on Tuesday.

A man armed with a machete entered the Ellison St store about 9am.

He took a small quantity of cigarettes and left the store after being chased off by the garden hoe wielding proprietor's father-in-law, who had been tending a garden of cauliflower out back.

Anyone with information about the offender is asked to contact police and quote file number 210616/3340. Photo / New Zealand Police

Te Awa Store's Manmohan Singh told Hawke's Bay Today on Tuesday that he was alerted by his daughter-in-law as she retreated from the shop when she saw a man in the shop with a knife forcing his way into the area behind the counter.

Singh went in and knocked the man to the ground with a garden hoe and the man fled the scene.

Manmohan Singh, gardening completed, back at the Te Awa Store counter a few hours after using his hoe to whack a robber. Photo / Warren Buckland

Police said the man was believed to have been travelling in a white van and possibly headed along Chambers St towards Maraenui.

Police said they would like to hear from anyone who has information which may help them identify and locate the offender.

People can get in touch on the 105 number and quote file number 210616/3340.