A TERRIFIED shop worker was forced to hide from armed robbers in a back room during one of two raids that happened within the space of an hour just a mile apart.

Two businesses in Westhoughton were targeted on Sunday night by men brandishing weapons.

Two masked men entered the Costcutter in Church Street, at around 9.20pm, and the Mercury Service Station, in Manchester Road near the Chequerbent roundabout at around 10pm.

Police are not ruling out whether the two raids might be connected and are investigating.

Costcutter owner, Himat Gola, said there was one member of staff in the shop at the time and she was away from the counter, sorting out the day’s newspapers, when the men walked in.

The woman, who is in her mid-twenties, heard the bell go when the door opened and looked around the corner.

She saw two men, one armed with a knife and one with a hammer, and fled through a nearby door and locked herself in the back room.

The men then tried to get into the till and when they failed to do so took the woman’s bag and purse before leaving.

When she thought it was safe to do so the woman let herself out of the back room and called Mr Gola.

She locked the main door but before the owner could get there the two men returned and tried to get into the shop again by smashing the window and door with the hammer.

Speaking about what happened to the member of staff, Mr Gola said: “She was very shaken up, but anyone would be. The main thing is that she was unharmed.

“We have had a few burglaries at night while we’ve been here but nothing like this, which happened while we were open.”

Mr Gola then called the police and several police cars and crime scene investigators attended the scene.  Police said the two men fled into the estate behind the shop after the raid.

At around 10.10pm, police were called to the BP petrol station, in Manchester Road, where an armed robbery was reported to have taken police.

Two men entered the shop with a knife and staff handed over around £100 in cash and some cigarettes before the two men made off from the scene.

No-one was injured in either incident and police have launched an investigation and are carrying out inquiries.  A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said both incidents involved two white men entering the businesses with weapons.

However, at the Costcutter a hammer was used and there was no reports of one being used at the petrol station.  The spokesman said: “We were called at 9.50pm to reports of an armed robbery at Costcutter in Church Street, Westhoughton.

“A member of staff was not injured but was shaken.  “We are not ruling out that it is connected to the Mercury Service Station.”

No arrests have been made. 

The window and door at the Costcutter were still damaged yesterday and will need to be repaired. 

Anyone with information can contact the police on 101.