By Graham Huband and Graeme Strachan

A sales assistant at a Dundee off- licence last night spoke of the terrifying moment when a man confronted her and demanded cash from the till.

Irza Saeed (20) and co-worker Hasiem Chughtai were working in Cheers at Campfield Square Shopping Centre in Barnhill yesterday when the man burst into the store at around 4.45pm.

Miss Saeed—daughter of the owner —said the man spent around five minutes in the store making demands before running off empty-handed when the alarm sounded.

She said, “The guy came in and put a bag on the counter and said to put money in it. He had some sort of weapon in his pocket and he said ‘I’ll use it.’

“By that time I had pressed the panic button. We have got one that goes straight through to the police and another that sounds the alarm. He ran off when he heard it.

“I am OK now but at the time I was really shaken. He didn’t get anything.”

There was a large police presence at the shopping arcade last night as officers spoke to potential witnesses.

Police issued a description of the man they are seeking in connection with the incident. He is in his 20s, 6ft and of average build. He wore a blue and grey sports style hooded top with a large front pocket, and blue tracksuit bottoms. He also had a Dundee Football Club scarf drawn up over the lower part of his face.

Detective Constable Simon Murray said officers wanted to speak to anyone who was at the shopping arcade at the time.

They are also keen to identify a woman who the would-be robber passed as he made off.

Mr Murray said, “About quarter to five this evening a man has gone into the shop and has requested money. He was unsuccessful and left the shop and probably made off in a westerly direction out towards Nursery Road.

“We are looking to speak to a female he passed outside the shop on the pathway. She was in her late 30s, with short dark hair and was wearing dark clothing.”

It is the latest in a string of serious crimes at independent stores across Dundee in recent months.

Chief Constable John Vine is due to address Tayside Joint Police Board today, where he will blame the rise in robberies and attempted robberies—up from 77 to 125 in one year— on drug dealers.

He says that “intelligence analysis suggests that dealers of controlled drugs are now asking for cash as payment for drugs, whereas stolen property was accepted in the past.”

Anyone with information about the attempted robbery should call the police on Dundee 223200 or speak to any officer.