Night'n Day robbery '10 times more serious'

Police were last night still looking for a person who they say held a store attendant at knifepoint at the Mornington Night'n Day food store, in Dunedin.

Senior Sergeant Brian Benn said no-one was hurt in the incident, which happened just after 9pm on Saturday.

A man wearing a balaclava and hoodie presented a knife and demanded cash and cigarettes, he said.

The man left the shop with the takings and a small amount of cigarettes and headed down Neidpath Rd.

Dairy owner Qian Sun said her staff member, in her late 40s, was shaken but calm after the incident.

It was the third incident in the year she had owned the shop, she said.

The first time people broke into the shop was when it was closed and the second time two men attempted to get in by breaking the back door down, when she was in the store, at 1.30am.

''I was a bit nervous about that. This time it was 10 times more serious.''

She was resigned to robberies being a risk of the dairy business but did not like it, she said.

Police forensic staff were at the scene yesterday morning and CIB was continuing to investigate.