TWO men have been arrested following a theft from a bookmakers in Nelson.

The incident occurred at William Hill in Barkerhouse Road at around 6pm this evening.

The two men from Nelson stole an estimated £1,000 from a gaming machine as it was being emptied by a member of staff, police said.

A police spokesman said: “The two men were in the shop at the time and opportunistically took the money as the machine was being emptied.

“The man emptying the machine wasn’t harmed, they just grabbed the money and ran.

“The bookmakers had pretty good CCTV so we’ve managed to find the culprits and arrest them.”

Police estimate that so far around £450 has been recovered.