AN ARMED raid on a Prestwich building society last Friday brought the number of attacks on the branch to eleven in 18 months. But, after ten ram raids on the Halifax Building Society office in the Longfield Precinct, this latest attack, by three men armed with handguns and a machete, has brought a new and more dangerous threat.

The men burst into the busy office at 12.20pm last Friday and threatened terrified staff before escaping with what police described as a "substantial amount" of cash.

Used in the raid was a blue BMW, registration H599 MPD, which was parked on nearby Rectory Lane while the robbery took place. It had been stolen from Market Street, Bury, between 7pm and 9pm the previous night.

The car was later abandoned on Ogden Street, Prestwich, where the offenders escaped in a Green Austin Montego, registration F635 WRN which had been stolen from outside the Cathedral Arches pub, Manchester, the night before. It was later abandoned in Cheetham Hill.

The first man was 5ft 10ins tall, medium build and spoke with a local accent. He wore a dark sweater and jeans.

The second was also 5ft 10ins tall, medium build, wearing a green bomber jacket.

The third was 5ft 6ins, slim build, wearing a beige jacket with the logo "Le Coq Sportif" on the front.

Police are eager to talk to anyone who may have seen the two cars between the time they were stolen and Friday afternoon.

Det Ch Insp Tony Simister said: "This was a particularly terrifying ordeal for the staff at the Halifax and we would like anyone with any information to come forward. Obviously the cars were stored somewhere prior to the raid and we would like to talk to anyone who knows of their movements between Thursday night and the time of the raid."

You can call the Crime Management Unit at Bury on 856 8140.

ZComputer equipment totalling around £25,000 has been stolen over the past eight months in ram raids on the office. Damage to the plate glass door and window during the raids has totalled an estimated £50,000.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.