SHOPPERS in Penzance fled in panic as a man entered a shop in the town before slashing his own throat with a knife yesterday afternoon.

The 23-year-old man entered the Woolworths store in Penznace at around 3pm yesterday brandishing a knife which he then used to cut his own throat.

Police and ambulance services were called to the scene and the man was airlifted to the Royal Cornwall Hospital but was pronounced dead.

A police spokesman said it was "horrific for everyone watching". Nobody else was injured during the incident.

It is believed that the man went into the store and began walking up and down the aisles waving the knife about which causes panic among shoppers.

Woolworths staff quickly cleared customers from the store and alerted the police.

A spokesman for Woolworths said that the shop would remain closed for the foreseeable future.

A formal identification of the man has not been made yet.