A York petrol station attendant was hailed a hero today for coolly facing down a knifeman who burst into his filling station and demanded cash.

Andrew Jarvis, manager of Murco Filling Station, Huntington, outside the store today.

The masked raider fled empty-handed after the attendant, Adrian Nellis of Huntington, told him: "Don't be stupid, this is on video," and slammed a door in his face.

The raid at the Murco station in Huntington Road, York, came within days of another botched robbery attempt on a post office in the Spar supermarket just two minutes away.

But detectives in York said today they were not linking the two raids.

The drama of the most recent raid unfolded when Mr Nellis, an arts student at the York College of Further and Higher Education, was working at the Murco garage.

Mr Nellis was in the back office when the man violently kicked the door to the garage open and threatened him with a knife.

Mr Nellis slammed the office door shut and shouted at the man not to be so stupid as he was caught on security video.

The robber banged on the office door but Mr Nellis kept it shut, and the robber then fled the garage.Andrew Jarvis, the proprietor of the garage, said he was proud of his employee.

"It is against company policy to tackle thieves, however Mr Nellis was very brave and his behaviour was exemplary."

York police today released a composite description of the man they are seeking in connection with the Murco raid.

He is described as white, six feet tall, and thin. He was wearing a blue, long-sleeved checked shirt and light jeans. He wore a yellow and orange striped mask, perhaps made from a sock. He carried a wooden-handled knife with a seven inch blade.

Police are anxious to trace a man who bought petrol from the garage immediately after the incident took place at around 8pm last night.

Anyone with any information should contact York Police on 01904 631321 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.