This is the moment a brave massage parlour employee tried to stop a thief from robbing the till - before being pushed to the floor as he makes off with £250.

CCTV shows the dramatic incident unfolding at Lavender Thai Therapy in Elm Park, East London on Saturday (January 3).

A man clad in dark clothing and a hat can be seen past the parlour - before stopping and going back to the ring the bell.

The employee then lets him in and the pair talk by the till - with the man showing an interest in a voucher for his wife, according to owner Bill Lavender.

But as the conversation continues the man makes a sudden grab for the money.

And, despite the efforts of the employee, he manages to shrug her off - and makes off with £250 in cash.

The Metropolitan Police said it was investigating.

Mr Lavender, 69, said: "I always see people coming out of Co-op laughing, with their arms full of stuff."

"We're told not to tackle them or anything. One day last week, the robbers came to our shop. "

"They tried to rob the Co-op of cash or cigarettes or something, but weren't successful. "

"I think it's an opportunist thing, and the robber decided to come in and try his luck. "

"We take a lot of card payments, but he took £250 in cash from us. "

"He said he wanted to buy a gift voucher for his wife, pushed the staff member over and took the money. "

"We always have at least two staff members working. My wife and another member of staff were doing massages."

Mr Lavender, a driving instructor with the London Ambulance Service (LAS), added that similar criminality has risen in recent years, saying: "We've been in Elm Park for seven years next month. "

"It was never like this before, when we first started. In the last couple of years, it has got much worse. We live in a different world now. "

"We want to make our store nice, like a five-star hotel, but we don't expect customers to rob and assault you. "

"But what can we do? Install more security? It seems to go against the nature of the business. We will be more on our guard, now."

"Someone on a local WhatsApp group has put a name to the face, and the police have been to the shop."

A spokesperson for the Met Police confirmed that the force received a report of a robbery at a shop on Station Parade on January 3, adding: "The suspects had left the scene at the time it was reported. "

"Officers have visited the premises and spoken to the owner. Enquiries, including examination of CCTV, are being carried out. "

"No arrests [have been made]."