An armed robber has pleaded guilty to carrying out a "terrifying" raid on an Edinburgh shop.

Harry Tant, 26, targeted the Scotmid shop in Newhaven where two female employees were working.

They had not long opened the shop on Lindsay Road when Tant entered the premises.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that when he walked in, he asked the shop workers: "Is there anyone in the shop? Is It just you two?"

Advocate depute Maryam Labaki told the court one of the employees then saw Tant produce a knife and a hammer.

Tant forced the women into the back of the shop and demanded they open a safe, where he made the women fill a rucksack he was carrying.

The prosecutor said the robber began waving his weapons about as if he was trying to hurry the woman along.

Tant kept saying: "I'm not going to hurt you. Hurry up."

Ms Labaki said: "The women had filled the accused's rucksack up to the point that it was too heavy to lift. He ordered them to take some bags out and made them carry the other money bags.

"The accused then ordered the two women to let him out of the shop and they all walked out of the front door towards Tant's motorbike.

"Tant opened the rear compartment of the motorbike and they put the money in. Tant then allegedly apologised to the women before driving off."

The women returned to the shop, locked the door and pressed the panic button to alert police.

Tant stole £3882 from the shop, with none of the money was recovered.

A police investigation identified him as a suspect and he was detained days later.

When he was charged he replied: "I'm sorry for the women and I regret doing it."

He admitted assaulting the women by brandishing a hammer and knife and demanding money and robbing them of cash on May 28 this year.

Presiding judge Lord Beckett told Tant: "You have a bad criminal record for crimes of dishonesty and crimes of assault and robbery and this is another assault and robbery."

Lord Beckett, who was shown footage of the raid captured on security cameras, said it was "a terrifying incident on the face of it".

He deferred sentence on Tant, who was previously jailed for a knifepoint robbery at another Scotmid shop, for the preparation of a background report and remanded him in custody.