BRAVE IKKY 'BARS' THIEF FROM STORE; Knife thug clobbered by teen.

Byline: BY RON MOORE

A YOUNG shop worker fought off a vicious knifeman on his first day in the job.

Ikky Arishad, 17, had only been in his uncle's store for two hours when the blade-wielding thug stormed in for cash.

But Ikky ignored the weapon and got rid of the masked robber by bashing him over the head with an iron bar.

The attempted robbery in Pumpherston, West Lothian, on Thursday evening, happened just days after Ikky - from the Midlands - arrived in Scotland for a family visit.

He said: "I was really keen to help out in my uncle's shop for a few hours and they agreed, not thinking anything like this could happen. It happened as we were closing at about 9.30pm.

"The guy came in and shouted, 'Give me all the money' but I called his bluff and said no way. I wasn't going to give it up without a fight, no matter how big the knife was.

"I then spotted a metal bar under the counter and grabbed it.

"When the robber lunged at me with the knife, I whacked him over the head with the bar."

Ikky's uncle, Ali Arashad, 34, who owns the Shop and Save store, said yesterday: "We have never had problems like this. The family are all so proud of him. It takes a certain type of person to do what he did."

Brave Ikky said the robber was aged between 15 and 18, left handed with blue eyes and was wearing a grey/black camouflage jacket with a hood and sand mask with dark goggles and black jogging bottoms

Lothian and Borders police said: "The attacker's clothing is very distinctive and hopefully someone will recognise the description."

CAPTION(S):

HAVE-A-GO Hero Ikky yesterday; COURAGE In his uncle's shop