A MASKED robber fled empty handed when a 69-year-old newsagent stood his ground.

The thief, wearing a stocking mask over his face, walked into the Metro Cabin Newsagents in Church Street West at Radcliffe at 7.30am this morning.

Speaking in a soft voice, the raider asked for the contents of the till before producing a knife. The newsagent refused and the thug fled.

The offender is described as a white male, 5ft 6ins tall and slim. He was wearing a black hat and a two-tone bomber jacket.

Witnesses should contact Whitefield CID.