HAVE-A-GO HERO

Geoffrey Toal of Toal's shop said a man wearing a balaclava entered his shop last Monday morning holding a sports hold-all and a knife.

"It was immediately obvious he was no ordinary customer and was ready to loot the place," Mr Toal told the Leader. "The man said, 'There will be an easy way and a hard way to do this' but I just told him in no uncertain terms to go away.

"I am no brave man, but there was no way I was going to hand over the contents of the till to this person and he left empty-handed."

There were no customers in the shop at the time of the incident which occurred at around 11 o'clock in the morning.

"At this time on a Monday morning you are not expecting anything like this and nothing like it has ever happened before and my family has been running this convenience store in Glasker for around 50 years," added Mr Toal. "I was a bit shaken up afterwards, but when you are confronted by a situation like this you act spontaneously and don't have time to think.

"I think this was a random-one off and I am sure he will not be back."

It is believed the would-be thief is in his 20s and police have launched an investigation.

South Down UUP MLA John McCallister, who lives less than half a mile from Toal's shop has commented on the attempted theft.

"Small business owners find it hard enough to make a living without would-be thieves targeting their premises. Thankfully, the culprit made a hasty exit and I appeal for anyone who saw anything suspicious to contact the police immediately."