Shop assistant slashed in failed raid

A SHOP assistant has been slashed during an attempted knifepoint robbery at a greeting card store.

The 30-year-old victim suffered a wound to his arm after being attacked in the Easter Road shop during the daylight raid.

The robber fled empty-handed after demanding cash from the shop assistant, who was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for treatment.

The card shop, which formerly housed a beauty salon, was targeted at around 11.30am yesterday.

Local shopkeepers said the area had recently been plagued by a gang of suspected thieves who were trying to sell goods to store owners and residents.

Spots of blood were visible on the pavement outside the shop yesterday afternoon, with the store cordoned off and a police officer standing guard.

Allun Barnes, 39, a web designer from Lochend, said: "I'm totally shocked by this. I go into the shop to buy things all the time and I know the owner quite well. I can't believe that someone would rob the place."

No one at the shop could be contacted yesterday.

A police spokesman appealed for information in a bid to trace the knife used. He said: "A 26-year-old man has been detained following an attempted knifepoint robbery at a shop in Easter Road yesterday."