Mother victim of armed robbery twice in a year

Police said an 18-year-old had been charged with aggravated robbery. Photo / File

A young mother put her baby daughter in the back room of her dairy just moments before it was hit by an armed robbery in Oamaru on Saturday.

Meadowbank Dairy owner Joy Wang was yesterday still reeling after being being robbed at knife-point for the second time in 12 months.

Although the 22 year-old said she had been the victim of another robbery "at the same time last year," this time her 16 month-old baby had been in the store just seconds before it was raided by an armed man.

"He came toward me with a knife and pointed it to me. I was on my own but my baby was in the shop just before.

"I had just taken her into the back room. It could have been quite bad if my baby was still in the shop."

The incident took place around 3pm on Saturday and CCTV pictures show a masked man entering the store holding a screwdriver or knife.

Mrs Wang said the man made off with about 500 cigarettes.

She said the family had moved to Oamaru for a quieter life and she was now afraid after the latest incident.

Police said an 18-year-old had been charged with aggravated robbery and a 17-year-old faced a charge of robbery.

The 18-year-old was to appear in Oamaru District Court today, while the 17-year-old was bailed to appear at a later date.