There is a feeling that police don't have a grip

MOHAMMED Rajak, who was slashed with a machete in his store, and Ilhan Ahmedov, who was left bloodied and battered by thugs in his shop, say it's a dangerous time to be a shopkeeper in Scotland.

Dad-of-three Mohammed, who has run Buywell Day-Today convenience store in Glasgow's east end for three decades, was hacked in the thigh after being attacked by a gang of youths when he was in his 20s.

Today, the 52-year-old says staff can be assaulted as often as twice a month, while theft can be "hourly". He estimates retail crime has cost him £200,000.