POLICE are appealing for witness to come forward following a robbery at a Preston bookmakers on Friday 21 September.

The robbery took place around 9.15pm when two men have entered the Betfred shop on Leyland Road at Lostock Hall and demanded money. A third man has stood guard at the door whilst his accomplices have jumped over the counter, threatened staff and demanded money.

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There were two female members of staff on duty at the time, one of whom was knocked over by the man andsustained a serious injury to her knee which required surgery. The men escaped in a dark coloured saloon with an undisclosed amount of cash. The car was last seen driving down Brownedge Road, away from Lostock Hall.

There were two male customers in the shop at the time of the offence but fortunately they were unharmed.
An investigation is underway and police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Detective Sergeant Ian Derbyshire said: “We are at the early stages of the investigation but I would appeal to anybody that witnessed this robbery or thinks that they saw the car driving away from the scene to come forward.
“Specifically I would appeal to a man and a woman that were together in the nearby KFC at the time of the offence that gave a partial registration plate to another witness to come forward so we can speak with them.

“The men who entered the shop were dressed in black and wearing hooded tops with scarves covering their faces. We believe there was also a fourth man who acted as a getaway driver. No weapons were seen during the offence but we are reviewing CCTV evidence and would ask any witnesses or anyone with any information about the robbery to contact Lancashire Police on 101.”

People with information can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or on-line at Crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.