Store owner left battered after shoplifter attack

A SHOPKEEPER has told of the terrifying moment she was attacked by a thief in an early-morning incident.

- BY ISLA STORIE

Syeeda Ramzan, 53, spoke out yesterday after figures showed a 17 per cent annual rise in retail crime - mostly shoplifting.

Syeeda had opened up her family's shop, Hammy's Convenience Store in Glenrothes, as normal on Thursday of last week before she was assaulted by a woman she caught shoplifting.

Her hair was ripped out in the sickening incident, which also left her with bruising on her body and a black eye.

This is the second time Syeeda has been attacked at work, after she was also set upon by three women at the end of last year.

She told the Record: "At about 6.55am, the woman walked in as another customer left. She picked up some items and put them in her pocket.