Trail of coins left as thieves make store raid getaway

Sandy's Store in Granton Mains Avenue

Two female employees were left terrified when a group of up to six men forced their way in to Sandy's Store in Granton Mains Avenue as the staff locked up for the night.

The thieves ransacked the store in the hunt for cash while demanding the employees open its safe in one of the back rooms.

But one of the men panicked and grabbed the handle of the safe, setting off the alarm during the raid at around 10.10pm on Sunday.

The men fled the premises with a four-figure sum of money, but a trail of coins was dropped from a bag of change they had stolen, leading to West Pilton Green.

Police deployed a sniffer dog in the minutes after the robbery to follow the path of the coins and identify the escape route taken by members of the gang.

Officers are now checking CCTV cameras along the route in a bid to identify the men.

Gavin Ramsay, 32, the bakery manager at the shop, which also includes a convenience store and post office, arrived at the store minutes after the incident.

He said: "The alarm company called me at home and told me the alarm had gone off.

"Since it was just 10pm, I knew the staff would be locking up for the night. Sometimes the alarm can be set off accidentally at that time so I thought it might be a mistake.

"I texted one of the staff and asked if there was anything wrong. There was no reply for a few minutes then she texted back to say they had been robbed.

"I only live around the corner so I ran straight round. They said there had been five or six of them who had waited at the back door. When one of the staff went to lock it they pushed their way inside.

"One of the men said they wouldn't be hurt, but another one was making threats. They went round looking for money and didn't bother with things like cigarettes or alcohol.

"Then one of them found the safe and told the staff to unlock it, but he must've panicked and grabbed the handle, which set off the alarm.

"As well as the cash from the till, they took money bags of change. They went out the back door again, but left a trail of coins halfway through the scheme. The police had a sniffer dog out to follow it."

Mr Ramsay added: "I've been here for three-and-half years and this is the first robbery we've had in that time. Someone set fire to the back door on Hogmanay, but we haven't had any other problems.

"The two girls were pretty shaken up by what happened."One of them was supposed to be working today, but I told her not to come in."

The suspects are described as being white and were wearing hoods or balaclavas to cover their faces, and gloves.

A police spokeswoman said: "This has been a terrible experience for the shop staff who, although uninjured, have been left understandably shaken as a result.

"We are appealing for anyone who may have been in the area at the time, and who may have noticed a group of men acting suspiciously, to contact police."