Armed robbery at petrol station near York (From York Press)

Armed robbery at Dunnington petrol station

12:31pm Monday 13th February 2012 in News By Dan Bean, dan.bean@thepress.co.uk

Updated: AN armed robber made off with a “large quantity of cash” in a daring daylight raid in a village near York today.

The man, armed with a knife, entered the Gulf petrol station in Hull Road, Dunnington, at about 9.30am.

A police spokesman said the offender ordered the cashier to hand over the money from the till, then fled, but police could not confirm whether this was on foot or in a vehicle.

Detective Constable John Phillips from North Yorkshire Police was leading the investigation at the scene, and said officers had taken statements from a number of witnesses, retrieved evidence from the scene, and would be reviewing CCTV from the garage.

Workers at the neighbouring Philip Welch Specialist Cars dealership said the first they knew of the incident was when the police arrived, and Ian Graham, owner of the nearby Station House Children’s Day Nursery, said he was shocked to hear about the armed robbery.

Mr Graham said: “I’ve never known anything happen like this, Dunnington is very quiet. I think it’s a bit strange that it happened first thing in the morning, not last thing at night when the tills are full.

“They are all really nice women who work there. I believe there are two or three, but it’s usually a man behind the till first thing on a morning.”

Sam Vale, assistant manager of the nearby Windmill pub, which opens at 7am, called the incident “worrying”.

He said: “I passed it this morning, and the place was flooded with police.

“It’s a bit worrying that someone’s likely to do that round here. I suppose it’s on a main road and quite easy to get to. We’re open from 7am, so I will be warning staff to be aware.”

Anyone with information, or who saw anything suspicious in the area is asked to phone police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.