THREE terrified restaurant workers were tied up by armed robbers in the second raid in eight weeks at a Little Chef in the New Forest.

Masked raiders burst into the 100-seater restaurant beside the A31 at Picket Post, near Ringwood, at about 10pm on Tuesday May 24.

One man threatened staff who were tied up and shut in an office.

The raiders then escaped with about £300 from a safe.

The staff, two men aged 21 and 22 and a young woman aged 19, were uninjured but very scared.

A police spokesman said: "They were absolutely traumatised. They were terrified.

"They were bound by the hands and pushed down onto the floor, but they did not lock the office door."

The three wriggled free after the robbers left. Because the restaurant phones had been disabled and their mobile phones stolen, they raised the alarm from the nearby Forest Edge station.

Police have said it is too early to say if the raid is linked in any way to the one at the same premises in April.

But the way it was carried out was almost identical.

At 10.15pm on Sunday, April 3, two tall white men wearing balaclava helmets, one wielding a handgun, marched into the restaurant, forced the two women on duty to hand over takings and locked them in the office.

On Tuesday, one raider had a balaclava and the other a mask, which prevented staff getting a view of the eyes and hair of either man.

One man, about 6ft 2in tall and wearing dark clothing, was carrying the gun.

His accomplice was smaller, about 5ft 10in tall, thick set and wearing blue jeans.

Both men are white and possibly aged between 20 and 25 years.

Police officers were at the restaurant on May 25.

A police dog handler was tracking down the robbers' escape route, which is thought to have been on foot for 40 metres to the north-western corner of the site.

They appear then to have made their way through the narrow belt of trees, scrambled over the wooden fence into Ellingham sports ground and made their way along the boundary fence.

Police have appealed for information from anyone in the area between 9.30pm and 10.30pm.

DS Steve Davies said: "We need to hear from anyone who saw two men acting suspiciously near the Little Chef or on the A31 either east or westbound.

"We also need to know if anyone saw a vehicle which could have been used by the robbers."

Call him on 0845 045 4545 or the anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800 555111.

First published: May 26