POLICE hunting a gang or armed robbers have released CCTV images in a bid to track down the raiders.

Three men raided the BR Woodland Stop and Shop service station on Wetherby Road, Harrogate, at about 7.20pm last Tuesday.

Armed with a crowbar, a knife and other weapons, they struck as a G4 Securicor van was servicing the cash machine at the service station.

They ran across the busy forecourt as the security guard was entering with a case full of money. They pushed him inside, wrenched the case from him and took money from the cash machine.

They all wore dark clothing and balaclava masks. Two were of large build - one wore a blue fleece, the other a dark puffa-style jacket. The third man, who was smaller, wore a dark sports top with light flashes around the shoulders.

They had driven onto the forecourt in a black Mazda 3TS, driven by a fourth man, in his early twenties with dark hair.

The gang fled in the Mazda, which was abandoned in nearby Woodlands Close.

One of the stolen cash boxes was recovered in the Mossley area of Manchester where detectives are trying to trace a dark Chrysler car seen near where a man was seen throwing an object into a canal.

Police also want to trace a silver Peugeot 206 Sport HDI, possibly with a 55 number plate, seen earlier on Tuesday, possibly in convoy with the black Mazda used in the raid.

Anybody using the shop or petrol pumps on the night of the raid or anyone who finds any abandoned items of clothing, such as the woollen balaclavas should contact the organised crime unit on 0845 6060 247 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.