An armed gunman tried to rob a Chessington bookmaker’s while a member of staff worked alone inside.

Paddy Power, in North Parade, was targeted by a man wearing a balaclava and wielding a grey barrelled handgun at about 8.30pm on bank holiday Monday.

According to an employee the robber made away with just £29 but the police had no record of any cash being taken.

No shots were fired and the staff member was left unhurt following the unuccessful heist that came just days after a suspected shooting at a Chessington bus stop.

A Paddy Power employee, who works at a Kingston-based branch of the Irish bookmaker's, said he would "not feel safe" working alone in the Chessington’s North Parade shop.

The employee, who did not want to be named, said: "It is fine being on your own in some of the busier shops but maybe not that one, which is in a quieter location."

Paddy Power, along with Ladbrokes and William Hill bookmaker's, practice "single manning" - staff working alone during quieter trading hours - usually at night.

Paddy Power cashiers have reportedly been working alone in shops for about 18 months in the Kingston area.

A Safe Bet campaign to outlaw "single manning" was started by group paper, the Sutton Guardian, back in 2014, after the brutal murder of a Ladbrokes employee in Morden.

Father-of-three Andrew Iacovou, 55, was repeatedly hit with a claw hammer during a robbery by homeless Shafique Ahmad Aarij in 2013. He lay dead for 90 minutes before anyone found him in the shop. His widow, Anita Iacovou, later said her husband might have been saved if there had been another employee in the shop.

Detectives from the Flying Squad are now hunting the gunman who targeted the Chessington Paddy Power branch.

He is described as a white man wearing a black Superdry jacket who reportedly ran off towards Bray Court.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "A man wearing a balaclava entered the premises and threatened a member of staff with a grey barrelled hand gun.

"No arrests have been made and enquiries continue."

A spokesman for Paddy Power said: "We’re helping the police with enquiries so cannot comment, nor would we comment on staffing levels."

Anyone with information should call police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.