A MASKED gunman threatens a York store owner and makes off with the takings.

Staff in a city centre newsagents are confronted by a shoplifter high on drugs.

A 73-year-old Tadcaster shopkeeper vows to continue trading after being raided for the 20th time.

Three of the reports in the Evening Press this year relating to shop crime. But for every incident that makes the headlines, countless more are never reported.

The scale of the problem was laid bare in depressing detail by today's study by the Co-op. Nationally, almost one in three corner shop staff faced violence last year.

Our own survey uncovered the terrifying stories behind the statistics. One York businessman is about to sell up after six years of increasing abuse and a knifepoint raid. Threats from gangs of yobs appear to be commonplace.

The unhappy truth is that shop workers are dangerously exposed. They work late into the night without the protective screens which shield bank staff.

Shops are easy prey for the street criminals and yobs, and the staff, often women, become innocent victims.

More should be done to protect them. Bosses of grocery store chains must ensure their workers are safeguarded not only by CCTV but by security patrols where necessary.

York police have teamed up with retailers to crack down on the offenders. Impressively, their work led to the "top ten" serial shoplifters being banned from 200 city stores.

If police patrols were able to provide a swifter response to reports of shop crime, that would further improve business confidence. Finally, the courts must get tough on those brought before them. Two recent cases, where magistrates were lenient on serial shoplifters, undermined efforts to deter the robbers.

Updated: 11:16 Wednesday, June 30, 2004