Staff at a Fife takeaway faced a terrifying ordeal when a man brandishing a 9in kitchen knife threatened them and attempted to rob the premises.
Shop owner Lalit Satyawaly frantically grappled with the assailant as he demanded money from the till, before forcing him out of the kitchen.
The hooded man fled empty handed after the incident at about 6.45pm on Christmas Eve at Curry Heights takeaway on Inverkeithing High Street.
Mr Satyawaly said he and staff were busy processing orders when he was suddenly confronted by a man screaming for money and threatening him with a large knife.
“I turned round in the doorway behind the counter and the man was right there in front of me less than 2ft away, screaming for money,” said Mr Satyawaly.
“Then I saw the knife and immediately realised I had to (do) whatever I could to get him away.
“I grabbed his arm forcing the knife, which was a commercial 9in kitchen blade similar to ones most people would use for preparing food, down and away from me.
“As we struggled the man was getting more and more violent but as he approached for a second time I eventually managed to pull a sliding door partially across, blocking him from getting into the kitchen.
“He made his escape out of the shop towards High Street a few moments later.
“I immediately ran to the front door, locking as I feared he may come back with others.”
Mr Satyawaly, who has owned the business for the last two years, raised the alarm with the police who arrived a short time later.
“Sadly I couldn’t give a description of what the man was wearing other than he was hooded and also had a cap on as I only focused on the knife,” he said.
“I had no other thoughts other than to stop the man from attacking me or my staff.
“It was pretty shocking but thankfully no one was hurt and the man didn’t get anything.”
Mr Satyawaly said he thinks the assailant may have been waiting close by for the right moment to attack.
“There had been a succession of delivery drivers in and out and the man must have been outside waiting for his chance when no one was in the shop,” he said.
“The sad thing is if he had just asked for help I would have probably given him money or food for free as I understand people are struggling and we’ve helped some like this from time to time.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said; “We received a report of a robbery at a premises on the High Street, Inverkeithing, around 7.25pm on Thursday, December 24.
“Inquiries are ongoing.”
