AN opportunist thief, who was dressed all in black, raided a branch of Subway in Chippenham late last night. 

The man, who is described as white, with a fairly tanned complexion and dark eyes, walked into the shop on The Bridge via the rear door and demanded that a female member of staff open the safe and till at around 8.30pm. 

He removed a quantity of cash and placed the money in a black and red laptop-style bag, before leaving through the same door.

It is believed that the man, who was wearing a black waist-length coat or jacket, black trousers with several pockets down the sides, black gloves and sand-coloured work boots and is about 5ft8in, spoke to a possible accomplice outside before getting into a car. 

Police are investigating the sighting of a silver three-door Vauxhall Astra Mark 5, described as sporty, with a black grill on the front, which may be linked to the crime.

Detective Inspector Nick Mawson, from Wiltshire Police CID, said: “This was a very frightening incident for the woman involved, but luckily she was not injured and police were on the scene within three minutes of receiving her call.

“We are looking into the possibility that this robbery is linked to the recent one at Subway in Devizes, and another similar incident at a Subway store in Cirencester over the weekend.

“Because of this we are liaising with other Subway branches in the county to offer crime prevention and safety advice, in the hope that we can prevent further incidents.”

He added: “We are now carrying out a thorough investigation and are following up a number of leads including CCTV, forensics and door-to-door inquiries in the surrounding area.

“I would like to reassure the public that we are taking these robberies incredibly seriously and would urge anyone with information to get in touch.”

Anyone with information should contact Wiltshire Police on 101.

Alternatively, information can be left anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.