TWO armed robberies took place at bookies in East Lancashire within the space of 90 minutes.

In both incidents two men, one armed with a baseball bat, threatened terrified staff, but fled empty handed on foot.

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Police are now investigating if the two incidents are linked, but are keeping an open mind because of the distance between the two raids.

The William Hill shop in Railway Street, Brierfield, was targeted at around 6.40pm on Wednesday, before the Coral shop in Railway Road, Blackburn, was raided at 8pm.

DI Eric Halford, of East division CID, said: “This must have been extremely frightening for the cashiers involved and thankfully no one was hurt and the men left empty handed on both occasions.

“An investigation to identify the offenders is underway and enquiries are on-going to establish whether the two incidents are linked.

“I would appeal to anyone with any information about either incident to contact us as soon as possible.”

In Brierfield the man armed with the baseball bat made his way to the counter, demanding money from the cashier.

Both of the men, who had hoods covering their faces, then tried to gain entry to a locked side door before fleeing empty handed.

At the Coral shop, the armed man again approached the cashiers and made demands for money.

The cashiers were able to hit a panic button and locked themselves in a room directly behind the counter.

The man with the baseball bat then opened the hatch and made his way to the till area before he was disturbed. He did not remove any cash from the tills before the pair fled from the shop.

The man with the baseball bat was described as white, slim build, approximately 6ft tall and aged in his twenties. He was described as wearing a grey zip up jacket, black trousers and a balaclava.

The second man is described as approximately 5ft 8in and was wearing a grey hoody with the hood up and black bottoms.

In both raids it is not known if a getaway vehicle was waiting near-by.

An eyewitness outside Coral’s said: “Somebody on the street, possibly a customer who was in there at the time, told me had what happened and I went in to check on the girls who work there. I was most concerned about them.

“I looked in and there was nobody there but it turned out they had locked themselves in the back room when they saw the men entering.

“They said there were two people wearing balaclavas and carrying baseball bats.”

A spokesman for William Hill said: “All of our shops have CCTV installed.

“We also have an award-winning Counter Plan initiative in place and we also do risk assessment training and conflict management training, which all staff must pass before they work in a shop.

“The staff involved are understandably shaken.”

Coral declined to comment.

Anyone with information can contact Lancashire Police on 101 quoting crime reference EG1503311.

Alternatively Crimestoppers can be called anonymously on 0800 555 111 or on-line at Crimestoppers-uk.org.