A SHOPPER was slashed with a machete while trying to foil a harrowing armed robbery at a busy town centre supermarket.

Three people were injured while terrified shoppers were forced to flee after five masked robbers struck at Aldi in Trinity Street at about 3pm on Monday.

Some of the men, who all wore balaclavas and dark clothing, were armed with large knives or machetes and another had what a witness described as a "battering ram".

The robbers stole a significant amount of cash after they had gone into the store and threatened staff making a cash delivery.

As they left, one dropped a bag of cash, and a shopper, aged in his 30s, moved towards the bag before being attacked with a machete.

He suffered a leg wound, which required stitches. and had to be taken to hospital for treatment, although his injuries are not thought to be serious.

A female shopper, aged in her 80s, was knocked over by a fleeing robber and was treated by paramedics at the scene, as was a woman suffering from shock.

It is thought that a black VW Golf — described by witnesses as the getaway car — was found abandoned nearby.

The robbers escaped from the store down Edgar Street, but a decorator, working close to Aldi, bravely tried to foil them by smashing both side windows of the car.

The man, working near to the store at the time, who asked not to be named, said: "I was in my car and saw all these women running out of the shop, scared as heck.

"I went up to them and they were shaking, and then I saw two people running towards me.

"One had a big machete and the other a battering ram, and they were all in black.

"I was worried about the guy with the machete. He looked fearless and was just waving it around everywhere.

"The Golf behind me had revved its engine and I saw two more guys in there, "I chased after the two guys and he kept showing me this huge machete.

"They were waiting for another guy to get in.

"I just grabbed a car part and smashed a side window.

"Then he reversed back and one guy got out and it looked as if he had one of the Aldi guys in a headlock.

"When they came back down here I smashed the other side window."

He added that one robber dropped a bag during the chaos, and several five pence pieces spilled out.

Police cordoned off the area as crime scene investigators scoured the store, which was closed, and its car park for evidence.

A police spokesman added: "The men are described as wearing dark clothing and were believed to be wearing balaclavas.

"Enquiries are ongoing to trace the individuals responsible."