POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a man was threatened with a knife on New Year's Day.

A teenager wearing a bandana approached the 27-year-old near Churchill Way West between 8.30pm and 9pm yesterday, according to police.

They say that the suspect was holding a knife and asked for the victim's phone and money - when this was refused, he ran off towards the Morrisons car park.

Neighbourhood Inspector Richard Lane said: “We would like to assure the public that we take an incident of this kind extremely seriously and will be looking to arrest the person responsible and get them off our streets as soon as possible.

“In the meantime, we will be conducting extra patrols in the area. If you have specific concerns, don’t hesitate to speak to our officers. You can also contact the Neighbourhood Team by calling 101 or by emailing Basingstoke.Town.Police@hampshire.pnn.police.uk."

Police say the suspect is aged between 16 and 17, around five foot eight tall, of average build and was wearing a patterned bandana across his face.

Hampshire Constabulary launched an appeal at lunchtime on Thursday (January 2) asking for anyone who saw anything suspicious, or was in the area at the time, to get in touch.

Insp. Lane continued: “We would also ask you to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious. Were you in the area at the time? Do you have CCTV or dash cam footage that might show something of interest?

“If you have any information about this crime, please get in touch by calling 101 and quoting 44200001091.

“Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”