STAFF at Mick Dines bookmakers in Bury were threatened with a handgun during an armed raid.

Two men with scarves covering their faces burst into shop on Manchester Road at 5.05pm on Friday and ordered the manager to open the safe.

One was brandishing a handgun and the other was armed with a metal bar. They ripped the telephone from the wall, before escaping with a large quantity of cash from the safe. The men drove off in a white Ford Sierra, registration number H965 XFV, which had been stolen during the early hours of Friday morning from Rochdale Old Road in Bury.

They headed along Heaton Fold towards Gigg Lane, and the car was later abandoned at the back of nearby Horne Street.

Anyone with information should contact Bury Crime Management Unit on 0161 856 8157, or Crimestoppers free and in confidence on 0800 555111.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.