POLICE hunting two teenagers believed to be behind an armed robbery on a Leyland cornershop have taken the witnesses to a local novelty shop in a bid to determine what masks the robbers were wearing.

The thieving duo stormed Ben's Off Licence, in Moss Lane, Farington, on Saturday afternoon (March 13).

Carrying a 12-inch knife, the first man held one of the two female shop assistants around the waist while a second man pushed the other assistant out of the way as he tried to open the cash register.

The terrified shop assistants set off personal attack alarms, which startled the robbers, who fled with £300.

Although the assistants were able to give good descriptions of the robbers, they were unable to describe the masks they were wearing, which were like the ones children often wear.

Det Cons Paddy Lavelle, who is investigating the incident, hopes that by taking the witnesses to a novelty store, they may be able to piece together vital new information. He said: "This was an unusual incident in that it is very uncommon for two men to hold up a shop.

"It is normally a solo effort. There aren't very many shops in this area and everyone on the nearby estate will know Ben's Off Licence, as it is both off licence and grocery store.

"Hopefully, that will jog a few memories. We already have a good description from the staff, even though they were very shaken up by the incident."

He added: "At the moment, we aren't linking it with any other incidents in the area because of its unusual nature."

The first man, who was carrying the 12-inch kitchen blade, was wearing a navy woollen hat, a navy blue top and jeans. He is white.

The second man, who was wielding a Stanley knife, was 5ft 4ins, of slim build and, like the first offender, was wearing a plastic mask to disguise his facial features.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Leyland Police on 433561.

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