DRAMATIC footage from CCTV, recording the minute of terror when an armed robber pulled a gun on a bank worker, has been released by police.

Police are appealing for more witnesses to come forward after the release of the footage, which shows the gunman enter the Halifax, in Borough Road, Darwen, at 2.39pm on Monday and leave empty handed 60 seconds later.

Two 16-year-old girls, who had recently finished their GCSEs, and a 58-year-old female cashier witnessed the terrifying event.

A fourth witness, who was parking his car in front of the bank as the robber was entering the building, actually walked past the gunman as he was leaving the scene. He failed to give a full description.

Police believe the gunman made off in the direction of Police Street, because security cameras on a car park to the right of the building did not pick him up.

The cameras revealed three people were walking down the road at the time. Police want to speak to them.

A woman, described as white with shoulder-length blonde hair, walked past the car park at 2.32pm, followed by an elderly couple one minute later. Police are looking to trace all three witnesses.

DS Paul Elms of Darwen CID said: "We interviewed a witness on Wednesday. He revealed he saw a man of a similar description driving a white Vauxhall Nova down the one-way system on Police Street towards Blackburn and so we are led to believe he made off in that direction.

"We are confident about catching the offender and we take all gun crimes very seriously indeed. After extensive study of the footage we are led to believe that the suspect is probably not local.

"He entered the bank with his face on show, in which case he could be identified more easily if he was from Darwen. He also spoke politely to the girls in the robbery and we didn't have the usual bad language that is present in most armed robberies.

"They didn't recognise any difference in his accent, which probably means that he is from near the area but lives somewhere else. All this is speculation at the moment."

The suspect is described as white, in his 30s, with a tanned complexion and a pronounced jaw line and around 6ft tall with stocky build. He was wearing a two-tone baseball cap, a blue-hooded tracksuit top with three yellow stripes down the sleeve, a light-coloured t-shirt underneath and jeans.

Anyone with any information should contact Darwen CID on 01254 353842.