At about 4,45am it was reported that a man, believed to have been armed with a gun, entered the petrol station on Old Meadow road, threatened the member of staff and demanded that he hand over cash from the till. He then left the petrol station with an amount of cash.

The offender is described as a white male, 6ft tall, medium build and he was dressed in black and had his hood up.

Detective Inspector Darren Hankin said: “We are at the early stages of our investigation and we want to hear from anyone who has any information which could help us identify the offender. Thankfully the member of staff wasn’t injured during the incident, but he is incredibly shaken up by his ordeal.

“If you were in the Old Meadow Road area at about 4.45am this morning and saw anything, or you were driving in the area and have dashcam footage that could help us please contact us.

If you have any information that could help you can DM @merpolcc, quoting reference 0172 of 31 December.

You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: https:///crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information.