AROUND £10,000 of staff wages were snatched by a man outside an East Lancashire firm.

Police said the money was taken from two employees of window manufacturer Safestyle UK.

The pair were at the company’s site in the Rising Bridge Business and Enterprise Village, off Blackburn Road, Stone Fold when the robbery happened.

Police said a man got out of a Ford S-Max and walked over to the employees and demanded they handed over wage envelopes.

The two employees had collected the money from an office and were returning to hand them out when the thief approached them.

Police said they believed the man made threats against the pair, took the envelopes and then left in the same car.

Worsley councillor, Ann Kenyon said that these sort of incidents were uncommon in the area.

She said: “This isn’t something that happens every day in the village and it’s not a problem that we normally have to deal with on a regular basis.

“We are only a small village and we are saddened by the fact there has been a robbery such as this has taken place.

“If I was the director or in management of this national company I would be concerned about how this has happened.”

A spokesman for Safestyle UK said there was no-one available to comment on the incident.

A police spokesman said: “Police were called at 9.45am on Saturday February 6 to a robbery at Rising Bridge Business Enterprise Village.

“The man got out of a Ford S-Max and walked up to two employees and demanded money off them.

“They were threatened and then they handed over in the region of £10,000 in cash. He then fled the scene in the car.

“If anyone has any information about the incident they are asked to call us on 101 and to quote 0462 of February 6.”