HUNDREDS of pounds were stolen from an Accrington service station yesterday after staff were threatened with a claw hammer.

At 10.20am, a man walked into the Spar shop at the Shell Services Garage in Burnley Road.

He made threats before taking money from one till and a cash cassette from another. He then fled on foot along Cambridge Street.

The man is described as white, aged in his 20s or early 30s, between 5ft 8inches and 6ft 2inches tall and stocky.

He had blue eyes, blonde or light ginger eyebrows and a lightly-tanned complexion.

He was wearing a thin black hooded, waist length waterproof jacket zipped up with dark coloured jogging bottoms with red markings on the back at the top.

He also had on a black scarf or jumper up over his mouth and wore black woolly gloves and a dark hat.

Police said the claw hammer appeared new and was shiny with a black rubber handle with blue cling film wrapped around the shaft.

Anyone with information on the robber is asked to call police on 01254 51212 quoting log 1532 of February 2.