A teenage cashier held up at gunpoint has been given paid leave and the full support of his employers.

He is also being helped by the company’s partner charity, GroceryAid that provides support for workers in the industry.

The update was provided by Alan Rowe, regional manager of Applegreen, whose Chatteris service station was where the attempted robbery happened on Saturday evening.

Mr Rowe spoke out to rebut claims on social media that the 18-year-old victim was made to finish his shift after the incident.

He said this was not the case and it was the police who required him to stay on for a short period.

Mr Rowe said "police took control" after they were called at 8.29pm on August 21 with reports of the gun-point robbery at the Bridge Street store.

"They closed the store from trading until Sunday afternoon when we were authorised to re-open," Mr Rowe said.

He added that the colleague who was working the night shift was with the police until they allowed him to leave after supervising the closure of the site and statements were taken.

"Our colleague was not asked to complete his shift and the site was closed from around 8.45pm Saturday to 5pm Sunday."

Mr Rowe said the staff member "confirmed this to be the case".

He added that the company offered to pay for a taxi for the staff member so they could be taken home after the incident.

“I also picked up a personal one to one call on Sunday to check in with our colleague to ensure he was fine,” said Mr Rowe.

He also offered the victim a “point of contact if they required further support.

“I also met with him and the team at the site on Monday and they are all ok".

All colleagues at Chatteris have been offered Grocery Aid's free phone number if they wish to talk to anyone about the incident confidentially.

Suspect Shane Richards, 29, of Treeway in Chatteris, was arrested in the town on Sunday (August 22).

He was charged with robbery and being in possession of an imitation firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence (robbery).

Richards was remanded in custody for his next hearing on September 20.