A 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery at a shop in Brighton.
His arrest followed reports of a masked youth threatening a shop worker with a wooden stick and demanding to be given cash from the till.
Sussex Police said that officers were called to Corner Newz and Booze in Upper Hollingdean Road, in Hollingdean, at about 8.45pm on Tuesday (5 November).
When they arrived a teenager was being detained by a member of the public. Two sharpened wooden sticks and a knife were recovered at the scene along with a Scream mask.
Detective Constable Leianne Blampied said: “A 17-year-old from Brighton was arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery and possession of a bladed article. He is currently in custody.
“I would like to speak to anyone who was in the area near Corner Newz and may have seen a man in a mask approaching the shop at about 8.45pm on Tuesday or anyone who heard what happened.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 101, email contact.centre@sussex.pnn.police.uk or call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.