TWO men threatened a shopkeeper with a lump hammer during an armed robbery in Unsworth.

The offenders walked into The Co-op Store in Parr Lane, at around 9.15pm on November 2.

Both were wearing motorbike helmets and one of the men, who was wielding a lump hammer, jumped over the till and started to smash open the registers and cash boxes.

He then grabbed money from the till before handing two of the cash boxes to his accomplice.

The pair then ran from the store and drove off on a motorbike, which had been reported stolen from an address in Salford a day earlier.

Officers managed to track down the two men while they were making their escape, and pursued the pair towards Pilsworth, until both abandoned their helmets.

Due to foggy conditions and the erratic driving of the men as they tried to escape on busy roads, the officers abandoned the chase.

The first offender is described as slim build, around 5ft 10in tall and was wearing a silver motorcycle helmet, grey trousers, and a black and white tracksuit top.

The second offender is described as wearing a black motorcycle helmet, a black jacket, black trousers and black trainers.

Detective Constable Rob Bartlett, of Bury Police, said: “The staff were thankfully left unharmed by these men, who were only interested in taking any cash they could get their hands on.

“But they still endangered their own lives, and worse still, the lives of innocent motorists as they tried to evade capture with reckless and dangerous driving.

“The motorcycle has a licence plate of MBL V04 and has yet to be recovered, so as well as anyone who may have been in the area of the Co-op Store that night, we are asking anyone who may have seen a Honda motorcycle with that registration plate to contact police.”

Call police on 101 with information.