Shadow Sports Minister Mr. Dennis Lister.

It is the second time in a year the New Garden Patch has been targeted by a raider.

Last night Mr. Lister called for action to tackle the underlying causes of crime.

"We have to look at the broader picture, and resolve those problems,'' he said.

The Main Road grocery store was hit at about 9.45 p.m. on Tuesday.

A youth wielding a machete walked in and demanded cash from Mr. Lister's father who was behind the counter.

Mr. Eugene Lister was terrorised into handing over $60, and the thief escaped into the night. Nobody was hurt.

The robber -- in his late teens -- is short and light skinned. He was wearing a blue hooded tracksuit top.

Last night Sandys North MP Mr. Lister said his father had handled the ordeal well.

"He is in pretty good spirits, and bearing up well. He didn't appear shaken by what happened and it won't stop him from working.'' Mr. Lister said his father was alone when the raider walked in.

"There is no way of knowing whether he had been waiting outside for his moment to come in.

"I believe a customer entered just as the teenager was leaving.'' Mr. Lister said it was the second time in a year the store had been raided.

"Last time the robber was armed with a machete, but I don't think it was the same person because the description doesn't fit.'' Mr. Lister said security at the store had been tightened -- although there was a limit to what could be done. He was loath to take the drastic step of locking and unlocking the door every time a customer came in.

One measure, however, had already been taken -- leaving as little in the till at night as possible, he added. It was this which prevented the raider from escaping with much cash.

"We must, however, look at the causes of crime,'' said Mr. Lister.

"As a businessman I am, of course, concerned by this type of crime.'' Mr. Lister's mother, Marion, who also helps out at the store, yesterday called for a return to Christian values.

"If we return to what the Bible teaches us these kinds of things won't happen,'' she said.