Shop assistant in knife terror

A SHOP assistant today described how an armed robber threatened to stab him to death with a foot-long knife while holding up a city newsagent.

The 39-year-old employee was working at the News Express shop in Trinity when the robber, whose face was concealed by a scarf and hood, burst in and pulled out the blade.

The victim was so terrified that he forgot the code number to open the till as the thief demanded he hand over cash.

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He said the robber repeatedly screamed, "I'm going to kill you if you don't open that till now", as he struggled to recall the code.

After he finally managed to open the till, the robber also demanded all the cigarettes from behind the counter, dumping dozens of packs in a plastic bag.

The seven-minute ordeal ended when a customer entered the Craighall Road store and the startled robber fled.

Police today appealed for help in tracing the suspect who struck at around 6.40am yesterday.

The shop assistant, who asked not to be named, said: "It was a very terrifying and dangerous situation for me.

"The robber came into the shop with a scarf to hide his face. He pulled out a big knife, which had a blade about a foot in length.

"He said to me he wanted all the money from the till. I was so shocked that I got really confused. I had never been in a situation like that before. It made me forget the number to open the till.

"While I was trying to think, he kept shouting that he was going to kill me and holding up the knife. He kept saying it again and again.

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"I could not see his face because of the scarf but I could see his eyes as he kept shouting at me.

"When I got the till open he grabbed a handful of money while holding the knife with the other hand. Then he told me he wanted all the cigarettes. He got a very large shopping bag and all the cigarette packets were dumped in there.

"He had been in the shop about seven minutes when a customer came in. The customer saw the knife and ran out the shop. But it must've made the robber afraid because he ran out after him.

"The customer came back a few minutes to see if I was injured and to say he would be a witness for the police."

The robber was last seen running south from the scene, and was lost to sight near Victoria Park.

He is described as being in his late teens/early twenties, 5ft 3ins to 5ft 6ins tall, skinny build, and wearing a cream/light-coloured hooded top, with the hood up.

The shop assistant added: "I was in so much shock. Something like that has never happened to me in my life. I thought I was going to be stabbed and killed."

A police spokesman said: "We are appealing for anyone who was in the vicinity of Craighall Road at around 6am, who noticed anyone acting suspiciously in the area, to come forward and contact police immediately.

"Similarly, anyone who recognises the description of the suspect, or who has any other information that can help our inquiries, should also get in touch."