The staff member has been named as 63-year-old Muhammed Maqsood.
He is quoted by the Daily Mail as saying: "He was telling me ‘give me the money, give me the money’ and he showed me the big knife, which was 3 feet long."
“I went to the counter and said to him ‘cool down’ and he followed me. He got me three times, but I used the pole twice and got him once on the shoulder and he ran off empty-handed."
Police said the shopkeeper suffered a minor hand injury during the altercation.
Appealing for help from the public in tracking down the masked man, acting detective sergeant Nick Lawrence said:
The footage is clearly distressing as it shows the man going in armed with the machete and struggling with the shopkeeper.
This sort of incident is extremely unusual in the area and I'd like to reassure people we're doing everything we can to trace the man in the CCTV.
This is why we've released the images – we want people to let us know who this is. Someone out there will have information about who this is and I'd encourage them to get in touch with us, anonymously if necessary.
Even if they think the information is insignificant it could be the vital piece we need.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Northumbria police on 101, extension 69191, quoting reference 336 08/11/14, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
