ENGINEER Jamie Reynolds is calling for more security in Chippenham after he was held up at knifepoint at a cash machine in the town.

The incident happened at 2am on Saturday when Mr Reynolds, 22, went alone to the NatWest cashpoint on the High Street after a night out with friends.

As he put his card in the machine, he was approached by a group of people, who he believes were aged about 16. He felt one of them push what he thought to be a knife into his back. The thief then ordered: "Give me everything you've got."

Mr Reynolds said: "I never thought this sort of thing would happen to me. I thought it was a friend messing around at first but once I realised it was for real I started to panic a bit."

He put in an incorrect pin number and the machine rejected his card.

"I said the machine must not be working and they told me to try again. I put in the wrong number again," he said.

Mr Reynolds then felt the pressure come off his back and heard the offender, who he said smelt of cider, mumbling to the people behind him.

"I could tell they were young because of their voices," he said.

He then analysed the situation and decided to try and get away.

"I looked in the reflection in the blacked out glass to the left of the machine," said Mr Reynolds.

"I could see his hands were by his side and he was a few inches smaller than me. I swung my elbow round as hard as I could and smacked him across the face. I felt his nose hit my elbow and I think he fell to the ground."

Mr Reynolds then ran off towards Buds nightclub, where his girlfriend was working, and reported the incident to a police officer dealing with trouble outside the club.

"The adrenaline was pumping and I was shaking. I still feel shaken by it now," he said.

"I thought the police response was pretty poor though. They just wrote down my name and address and said someone would contact me. They did not even go down there to see if they were still around."

Mr Reynolds said the whole incident has made him feel differently about his own safety.

"I am not a small bloke and yet they still targeted me. I am always going to be looking over my shoulder now," he said.

Mr Reynolds called for security in the town centre to be stepped up to make people feel safer and prevent similar crimes. "I think the police or the banks should put more cameras around cash machines and along the High Street," he said.

"They say they want to prevent crime but what are they doing about it? Are they going to wait for someone to be stabbed?"

Police are appealing for witnesses, and are anxious to speak to anyone who was in the High Street at the time and four teenagers who were sitting on a bench nearby.

Anyone with information should ring (01249) 654455.