BUSINESS owners are being urged to ensure all cash is removed from their premises overnight in the wake of the latest crime wave to hit Canvey.

It comes after an armed robber threatened staff and customers at knifepoint in a terrifying raid at the Co-op, in Pauls Court, off Meppel Avenue, over the weekend.

Vetran county and borough councillor Ray Howard is pushing for an urgent meeting with MP Rebecca Harris and Nick Alton, Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex, to decide what action can be taken.

in the meantime, he is calling on businesses to make sure no money is left behind overnight.

Dave Rowe, owner of Fitness 4 Life, in Oak Road, Canvey, which was targeted by burglars earlier this year, is also urging fellow entrepreneurs to follow in his footsteps.

He said: "A lot of our money comes from direct debits and standing orders, but we used to leave a little bit of spare cash behind the till overnight. Now we don't leave a penny.

"We've got a big, detached building here with lots of windows. To install security shutters would cost about £15,000 which we just can't afford, but we've had to put steel bars in. It doesn't look very good, it looks like a prison, but we didn't have a choice. We needed to do something to deter thieves."

Just hours after the armed robbery on Friday, the takeaway next door, the Dinner House, was also targetted by burglars.

Cash was stolen from a van parked behind the Back 2 Bed warehouse, on the Point Industrial Estate, and an Indian restaurant had its windows smashed.

The Co-op raider fled on foot with an undisclosed three-figure sum of cash after demanding money from terrified workers.

Mr Howard said: "We're a very close-knit community on Canvey, but there are a few people who ruin it for everyone else. I can't see someone coming onto the island to do this, so I assume they live here.

"It's totally unacceptable behaviour. I want to name and shame these people, they can't get away with it.

"Businesses have got to start introducing a policy where they don't have any cash on their premises overnight. We've got to stop these people."

ROBBERIES and burglaries on Canvey have gone up over the past year- although crime on a whole has dropped.

Latest figures released from Essex Police show there was one robbery on the island in August 2015, compared to none in August 2014.

There were 36 burglaries, compared to 20 12 months earlier.

However, anti-social behaviour and violent and sexual offences have dropped.

In total there were 261 reported crimes in August 2015, and 319 in August 2014.

Figures for September have not yet been released.

Councillors first called for crunch talks with Nick Alston last month after a man pulled out a knife on staff at Morrisons, in Northwick Road, and four teenage girls were followed down Canvey High Street.

St Nicholas Church, in King Road, was also burgled five times in five days.