THE boss of a computer firm raided by masked armed robbers believes they were part of a much larger organised Crime ring.

Shelley Raja, who heads Scan International, at Middlebrook Enterprise Park, said the gang acted professionally and were in and out of the building within four minutes.

He said the four balaclava-clad thieves had threatened staff with spanners and CS gas.

Stock valued at £15,000 is thought to have been stolen, despite staff efforts to disorientate the robbers by shouting and screaming.

Amid the confusion, one of the 14 employees was hit over the head with a fire extinguisher after he became involved in a scuffle with a raider just after 7pm on Friday.

It is the third time the premises has been raided.

Mr Raja said: "When the staff started to shout, the robbers looked confused and stared at each other.

"It can be a dangerous thing to do but in this circumstance it was the right thing because it meant nobody was seriously hurt."

The gang headed for the firm's computer processors and memory chips -- a hallmark target of this type of organised crime, Mr Raja said.

He said: "It's a very disturbing experience. You forget about the stock and think about the staff's safety.

"Luckily, the worker who was hit was discharged from hospital."

Staff involved in the drama were back at work on Saturday.

The processors and memory chips are electronically tagged and Mr Raja is optimistic they will be traced.

The raiders' movements were caught on CCTV cameras and they were spotted racing towards the Reebok Stadium in a red BMW 325i coupe car stolen from Accrington just hours earlier.

One of the attackers is white and in his mid 20s.

Planned

Det Chief Insp Dave Law, from Astley Bridge police station, said: "The gang had clearly planned the attack.

"There was a level of organisation involved."

Anyone with information can contact Astley Bridge CID on 0161 872 5050 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.