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Staff held at gunpoint in spate of armed robberies

BBC A police cordon can be seen outside a shop. A number of plants can be seen outside it and the words: 'Day Today' are visible on a sign above the shopfront.BBC
One incident happened on the Ballinderry Bridge Road

A number of shop workers have been held at gunpoint in three armed robberies across Mid Ulster.

Two masked men armed with a handgun entered a store on the Ballinderry Bridge Road of Coagh at about 06:50 GMT on Thursday.

They placed a gun to a man's head forcing him to open a till, before making off with cash in a car driven by a third man.

The second robbery, which was reported to police after 07:00, was at a supermarket on the Shore Road in Ballyronan when two men pointed a gun at a staff member's head before making off with cash and cigarettes.

A third armed robbery was then reported at a filling station shop in the Moor Road in Clonoe, County Tyrone, where cash was stolen.

A police cordon at Spar filling station - there is blue and white police tape in the foreground wrapped around a lamppost and a police vehicle is just behind it. Beside it is the large Spar shop with grey cladding and a Spar logo.
One of the armed robberies happened at a spar filling station in Clonoe, County Tyrone

Police said the vehicle used by the robbers, a blue Audi A6, was stolen early on Thursday morning from outside an address in Portadown.

It was found on fire at about 08:40 at Drumcree Community Centre in the town.

Police said the staff had suffered no serious injuries but were "shocked by the ordeal they experienced".

Sinn Féin assembly member Linda Dillon standing outside a police cordon at a petrol station in Clone, County Tyrone. She has blonde hair, black-rimmed glasses and a black padded coat over a grey knitted turtle neck
Sinn Féin assembly member Linda Dillon condemned the incidents

Sinn Féin assembly member Linda Dillon condemned the incidents and said staff in Clonoe were left incredibly frightened .

"It was a very, very frightening experience for the staff, they really are traumatised. I'm just glad that nobody was seriously hurt," she told BBC News NI.

"These were people were coming in early to do a day's work and they didn't deserve this.

"This shop really is the beating heart of this community in Clonoe and a lot of the staff are from the locality.

"Armed robbery is a very serious offence and I sincerely hope the people that carried out this attack are caught, because these are dangerous people. "

Dillon appealed for anybody with information about the robberies to come forward.

'Despicable attacks'

Glyn Roberts, chief executive of Retail NI also urged anyone with information about the "utterly disgraceful" robberies to speak to police.

"We shouldn't forget these are independent retailers that go above and beyond to serve their local community.

"Our thoughts are with the staff who have traumatised by these despicable attacks," he said.

Mr Roberts said assaults on staff, shoplifting and robberies are at "record levels.

"It is crucially important that the Department of Justice include the assault of shop staff is specified in the forthcoming Sentencing Bill," he said.