Newtown knifeman demands till cash from staff

A man armed with a knife burst into a Mid Wales restaurant and demanded cash from staff, police said today.

The man entered the Dragons Lair Chinese Restaurant in Newtown on Wednesday night and ordered workers to hand over money from the till.

Dyfed Powys Police today said the man left empty handed and no-one was injured after staff called for assistance. The force said a full investigation had been launched into the incident and assured residents that such incidents were rare in the area.

Antony Topazio, communications officer for Dyfed-Powys Police, said the man had walked into the restaurant situated on Old Kerry Road just before 10.30pm on Wednesday.

He said: "A man entered the Dragons Lair and demanded money from the person serving and when refused repeated the demand producing a knife.

"Police were called and the man left via Old Kerry Road towards the Pryce Jones building. The suspect is described as a white man, approximately 5ft 8in to 6ft tall, slim build, aged 30 to 40 years old and was wearing a dark blue/black anorak zipped up."

He appealed to anyone who may have been in the area at the time of the incident to call the police.

Nobody from the Dragons Lair Restaurant would comment today.

Call Dyfed Powys Police on 101 or 0845 3302000.