This is the moment a hapless gunman fled empty-handed after being told by an apologetic shop worker he had turned up too late for the till's time lock.

The would-be robber had pulled out a handgun and a bag and ordered staff to fill it during the raid in Graz, Styria State, Austria, just after 6pm on August 9, 2023.

But cool-headed workers told him he was too late, and that he should have robbed them an hour earlier.

CCTV video footage of the bizarre raid shows a female shop assistant staring down the barrel of the gun telling him: 'But I can't get into the till.'

Then her boss can be heard adding: 'Actually it doesn't work.'

Baffled, the gunman says: 'But it has to.'

Without hesitating the woman then tells him again: 'No, I can't get in.'

Then the manager explains: 'Unfortunately it's impossible. We've turned it off. At six, it's over.'

He adds: 'Look, at six it's over, the registry till is shut by now. You should have come an hour earlier. That's how it is, unfortunately.'

At that point, the masked gunman starts to leave the store but comes back apparently just to make sure.

The shop manager then tells him: 'You can come over here and have a look. It happens automatically. I'm sorry.'

Police - who have not revealed the identity of the shop staff - say they are investigating the botched heist.

Styrian Police said in a statement: 'The perpetrator asked for cash but fled without any loot.'