Third armed robbery this week

Another shop in Whangarei has been robbed by a man with a firearm - the third such robbery this week.

Police were scouring areas in Kamo and Kensington after The Vegie Twins, at the corner of Kamo Rd and Percy St, was robbed of a reasonable amount of cash about 7pm yesterday.

A single-barrel firearm was used but police weren't sure whether it was real or fake.

A young man, believed to be Maori, pointed the gun at a shop assistant before fleeing with cash.

Police cordoned off the crime scene and a police canine team was also assisting in the search for the robber.

It's believed no one was hurt during the robbery.

The latest incident follows one at Otangarei Takeaways where a shop employee was assaulted with a hammer by one of three robbers on Monday evening.

Earlier that day, the Onerahi PostShop was robbed of hundreds of dollars by a man using an imitation firearm which was quickly recovered by a police canine team.