Knife-wielding yobs target shop

A TERRIFIED shopkeeper has told how he feared for his life after two robbers burst in wielding kitchen knives.

• Zahid Mahmood was terrified by the incident

Quick-thinking Zahid Mahmood, 34, managed to sound a panic alarm as he backed away from the masked thugs who burst into the S&J Stores in Albert Street, Leith, at 8am on Sunday, flashing the blades and demanding cash.

One even followed the frightened worker to the rear of the shop, stabbing the knife towards him while his accomplice tried to make off with the till.

However, the planned raid was foiled by the weight of the till and the duo fled empty-handed towards Easter Road.

Mr Mahmood, who only occasionally works at the newsagent, said he could have been killed in the early morning attack.

"I opened the shop at about 7am and had done the papers and milk and was getting everything ready for the day," he said.

"At about 8am, two guys came in with huge knives in their hands and began shouting at me to give them money.

"I pressed the panic button and moved towards the back end of the shop, telling them to take whatever they wanted.

"One began following me and was waving his knife at me.

"The other tried to pick up the till which is an old model and quite heavy so he couldn't lift it over a plastic screen guarding the counter.

"He gave up and just threw it down before the two of them ran out of the shop after a few minutes."

The shop worker, whose father-in-law owns the business, said it was one of the most chilling experiences of his life.

"It was really very frightening and a very dangerous situation," he said. "The knife was so big if he had caught me with it I could have been killed."

Store owner Mohammed Akhtar, who has run it since 1986, said the corner shop had once before been targeted by robbers but stressed such incidents were very rare.

"Something like this is not a regular occurrence but we did have something similar happen six or seven years ago," he said.

"It's generally quite a safe area around here so I'm pretty shocked, especially as it took place within the first few days of January. It's not a brilliant start to the New Year."

Mr Akhtar said at least one witness saw the masked robbers fleeing the scene on Sunday morning and was co-operating with police.

The first male is described as white, between 5ft 6ins and 5ft 7ins, aged 17 to 20, slim and with short hair. He spoke with a Scottish accent and was wearing a dark-coloured scarf over his face and a dark T-shirt.

The second is also a white male, aged 18 to 20 years old, between 5ft 8ins and 5ft 10ins, slim and wearing a cream- coloured shirt. His face was also masked with a garment and he was carrying a plain cream fabric shopping bag.