Masked robbers held terrified shop workers at knifepoint during a cash-grab raid at a Scots convenience store.
Two balaclava-wearing thugs stormed Harry’s store in Greenock on Monday morning, just yards away from a primary school.
Parents with children had been inside the shop just moments before the crooks burst in and threatened two staff members – a man aged 29 and a woman aged 62 – with kitchen knives as they ordered them to empty the tills.
CCTV footage of the incident, capture on the in-store camera, recorded the petrified workers as they pleaded with the thugs to take the cash without hurting.
In the clip, the two men, dressed all in black, are seen approaching the shop with large bags. One of the masked yob goes behind the till and swings his knife at a display of vape products, knocking them to the floor.
The male cashier can be heard frantically pleading with the pair as the second man approaches him brandishing a blade and holding a black holdall bag open. The female worker is dressed in a Santa hat and can be seen walking towards the till.
The thug with the holdall demands “get it in quick” while pointing the knife towards the cashier. He then takes the worker’s phone from him and throws it on the floor before stamping on it and handing it back.
The worker can be heard begging “take all the money, take all the money,” as he lifts his hands up in fear. His female colleague tries to reassure him, by shouting ” he’s not going to hurt you“.
The pair then emptied £600 into holdalls before swiping a charity collection tin and a bottle of vodka in the despicable raid.
Shop owner Harry Khan, 31, told the Record that while his staff have been left traumatised by the incident, he is glad no one “tried to be a hero”.
He said: “I’m glad no one tried to be a hero. These guys had nothing to lose and they were armed and dangerous but my staff had everything to lose.
“You hear other stories about people being killed whilst trying to be brave and it ends in tragedy. So I dread to think what could have happened if they tried to tackle one of those thugs.
“They are scumbags to target innocent people and a community business like this and my employees are traumatised, but thankfully they kept themselves safe because their lives were put at serious risk.
“I’m just relieved that everyone is okay.”
Harry said it was lucky the incident took place while there were no customers in the store, which is popular with young kids and families.
He said: “Someone could have been seriously hurt or worse. There are children and families in here all the time. The shop is just two minutes away from a primary school and these guys are running about with bladed weapons. It’s a disgrace.”
The shop boss had to send his two staff members home as they were too shaken to work. But they bravely returned to work on Wednesday after vowing not to be intimidated by the violent attack.
He added: “We won’t let them stop us from continuing to serve the community. My brave staff have been back today, they know they have our full support. We’ll do our best to come back from this.”
Police are now hunting the two robbers. Forensic teams were seen combing the shop hours after the incident.
Detective Cheryl O’Donnell said: “Fortunately no one was injured but staff were left shaken and very upset as a result of this robbery. We are keen to speak to anyone who was in the area and witnessed anything suspicious or has information that could assist with our enquiries to trace those responsible.
“We are also asking people to check private CCTV and dash-cam footage to see if they have captured anything that would help with our investigation.”
“If you can help, please contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0874 of Monday, 16 December, 2024, or make a call anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
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