A shopkeeper has described how he initially thought a robber who came into his shop in broad daylight brandishing a machete was "a prank".

Bikrant Malhotra was working in the Day Today store on Alloway Road in East Kilbride when the incident happened.

He told BBC Scotland News that at first he thought the knife was fake, but after the man started hitting a few things it seemed "pretty real".

Police Scotland have appealed for any witnesses of the incident at about 12:30 on Monday 17 August to contact them.

"The area is usually quiet in terms of drama," said Malhotra.

"I thought it was a prank - I thought the knife was fake, I thought it was a bluff.

"But then obviously as the time went on, he wasn't leaving, and after he hit a few things, the knife was pretty real."

The robber initially demanded cash, but then he started asking for vodka.

"Once his mind was off the money, I just started putting the bottles in - obviously that's insured," said the shopkeeper.

"And then he started asking for scratch cards, which is even better because you don't even have to go through insurance, you could just cancel that straight away."

Eventually the man left but Malhotra said he was surprisingly unshaken despite having nothing to defend himself with.

However, he said it was lucky nobody else had come into the shop.

"Surprisingly, no customer came in," he said. "That time is usually a busy time.

"The next day at that exact time, there was six people, like six customers in the shop.

"Those three minutes, no-one came in, which is a good thing, I think just because no-one had to see that.

"Obviously he could have panicked as well and anything could have happened."

Police have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

They described the robber as wearing a black and blue jacket, a grey tracksuit top, and with a white shirt over his head.

Anyone who saw the incident or has CCTV or dashcam footage which could help has been asked to contact them.