Masked robber trashes Auckland dairy after failing to open till

A disabled dairy owner has been left with a huge cleanup after a masked robber trashed his shop in a failed attempt to steal the till.

As Sattish Lal was closing his shop on Frederick St in Hillsborough on Thursday at 8pm, he was startled by a man who brazenly walked inside his businesses.

The man was dressed in all-black clothing and was wearing a mask.

Lyle Superette's counter falls over the thief after he fails to tear off the till. Photo / Sattish Lal

Lal, who was inside the back room at the time, noticed the stranger on security camera footage and came outside to check but was met with hostility.

“He just walked in like it’s his shop. He went straight to the till, he wanted to open it.

“I was in the back room, then I saw him come in CCTV footage so I went out to check.

“He kept asking me for money ‘give me money, give me money’, he pushed me and wanted to go to the other door, my wife who was with me started screaming, she was scared.

“I told him ‘No we have no money there’. I didn’t let him go inside.”

This did not deter the robber, Lal said.

“Then he went around to the other side of the till, this time he wanted to tear the till off, but he was not able to do it so he made a big mess on the counter.”

A masked robber flipped the counter of Lyle Superette in Hillsborough, Auckland after failing to tear off the till. Photo / Sattish Lal

The disgruntled thief flipped the front counter, making a huge mess, Lal said.

“I use an artificial leg so I did not want to engage in a confrontation or run after him.

“I rang 111 once he was gone. He was there for whole five minutes, arguing with us.”

Sadly, this was not the first time something like this happened at his shop, Lal said.

“It happened last time as well, a week before the Sandringham dairy worker was killed. We stopped carrying cigarettes as a result of so much crime.

“Even then this happens, it’s become normal now. I have to buy another till.”

Lal said police officers had come this morning to have a look at the CCTV footage, which they took with them.

However, it would not mean anything because the masked robber is unidentifiable, he said.

“He was covered completely, no tattoos or anything.”

This incident had shaken up the hardworking couple, Lal said.

“My wife was very scared, she kept thinking he will come again.

“It just makes you very afraid, we want to support our business but they come and break the till again and again.

“We don’t even know where to get help or support.”

A police spokesperson confirmed officers were called following an attempted robbery at a convenience store in Hillsborough just after 8pm on Thursday.

“The offender fled on foot prior to police arriving.

“The victim’s property was damaged as a result of the incident and inquiries are ongoing to identify the person responsible.”