MASKED raiders have escaped with around £62,000 in robberies at two petrol stations within 300 yards of each other.

The first raid, in which around £48,000 was stolen, happened at 10.30am last Thursday (September 28) when a Group 4 Security guard was filling a cash machine at the Nimra petrol station in Bolton Road, Bury.

Two men jumped over a fence, grabbed the guard and forced him to hand over a box containing the money.

Both men clambered back over the fence into Fairy Street and drove off in a BMW which was later found burned out off Mile Lane in Bury.

Two days later - on Saturday afternoon - the nearby Tesco Services garage in Bolton Road was targeted by a gang of three men who got away with around £14,000 when they used their VW Passat to crash into the rear of a security van as the guard was removing the money.

The cashbox fell to the ground and was snatched by one of the three masked thieves.

The car, which had been earlier reported stolen from the Sedgley Park area of Prestwich, was discovered abandoned a short time later in nearby Stephen Street.

Detective Inspector Bill Beddows, head of Bury's priority crime unit, said no weapons were used during either of the incidents and the guards were not injured.

He said: "It is too early to say if the robberies were carried out by the same offenders.

"In the meantime, I would urge anyone who witnessed either raid, or saw the vehicles used in them being abandoned, to contact the police urgently."

Anyone with information should call (0161) 856 8115 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.