By Kirsty Topping
Owner Ash said his “overriding concern” was for the safety of his staff
POLICE are hunting a gun-wielding robber who held up a shop in Edinburgh.
The thief pointed the handgun at a 25-year-old woman shop worker and demanded money.
The woman was forced to hand over more than 100 to the man, who was wearing a black raincoat and what looked like a balaclava.
He then ran away from the Appellation Wines store in the city’s Dalry Road.
Today the owner of the business, who would only identify himself as Ash, described the moment the robber burst into his shop. He said: “The girl was sitting at the counter, working on her computer. But she looked up when the shop door was knocked open against the wall.
“The man made his way up to the desk. He had something dark over his head.
“He said ‘Give me notes, give me notes. Put them in a bag.” She gave him money out of the till and then he ran off.
“He had a gun, but he wasn’t waving it right in her face. It was down at his side.”
The shopkeeper said he suspected the criminal may be a drug addict. “He was shifty and wasn’t looking her in the eye, which makes me think it’s some addict who was desperate for money,” he said.
Appellation Wines was robbed at gunpoint
“It has wiped out my profit for the day.
“The loss of the money isn’t great. I work all the time to try and make some money and then some scumbag who decides he’s not getting paid quite enough benefits or not getting quite enough free methadone decides to rob us.
“But at the end of the day my overriding concern is for the safety of my staff. “
He said the woman was shaken by the robbery. “She’s a very nicely brought up girl from a nice family and it’s not a very nice thing to happen to her,” he said.
The raider is described as aged between 40 and 50 years old.
He was wearing blue jeans and was carrying a black and grey rucksack on his back.
Police describe the man as being around 5ft 6in tall with thick eyebrows and a Scottish accent.
The robbery happened at around 8.30pm yesterday (thu).
A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said:
“This was a terrifying experience for the young woman working within the store and we are now carrying out enquiries to identify the man responsible for the robbery.
“Anyone who remembers seeing a man matching the description of the suspect in the Dalry area is asked to contact police immediately. “
The man was last seen heading into the city’s Richmond Terrace.
