POLICE are appealing for information on a hunting knife with a distinctive crest following an armed robbery on Saturday afternoon (September 25).

Two masked robbers with a sawn-off shotgun and knife barged into Hartleys jewellers and pawnbrokers in Central Drive at about 4pm shouting at the three staff and four customers to lie on the floor while they plundered display cases, stealing 16 rings worth £1,500.

A passer-by gave chase but he too was threatened with a gun.

The knife, believed to have been dropped during the raid, is about 15 inches long in total, with a crest on the handle which looks like a letter W set in oak-leaves.

Det Sgt Keith Lee also appealed for any sightings on Saturday of a silver BMW 320, registration number HUI 3923, believed to have been used in the robbers' escape. The car was found abandoned in Morley Road, off Vicarage Lane, on Monday night (September 27).

On Wednesday (September 29), 28-year-old Gareth Owen, of Kirkham Avenue, Marton, appeared before Blackpool magistrates charged with robbery. He was remanded in custody to reappear on October 6.

Anyone with information is asked to call CID on (01253) 293933 or the confidential Crimestoppers hotline (0800) 555111.

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