ARMED raiders struck at a roadside cafe yesterday, tying up two female members of staff before fleeing in a stolen car.

The attack happened at about 6.45am at the Little Chef in Winterborne Zelston, near Bere Regis, as staff prepared to open at 7am.

Cari Ridout, who lives nearby, said: “The police came round at about 7.30am and said two men had broken in and threatened two ladies who work there.

“Apparently they’d been tied up. The policeman said they hadn’t been seriously hurt. I asked if they had got away with much and the policeman said just petty cash.”

The restaurant stands next to the BP petrol station on a section of the A31 near Charborough Park, between the Roundhouse roundabout at Sturminster Marshall and Bere Regis.

Mrs Ridout added: “The petrol station is always getting broken in to.

“We do feel quite vulnerable; that’s why we’ve got the dog, and we’re thinking about getting CCTV.”

Manic Kiruba, proprietor of the BP petrol station next door to the Little Chef, said police told him the raiders arrived in a white van, but stole a car belonging to a Little Chef staff member to use as a getaway vehicle.

“The police asked to see my CCTV and when I asked for the reason they said that next door had been robbed.”

“It’s not good. There’s tension all the time. Last week there was a farmer tied up at Bloxworth. I’m a bit concerned.”

A Dorset Police spokesman said the raiders had fled in a stolen blue Honda estate car, which was found abandoned at the nearby Botany Bay inn.

A spokesman for Little Chef said the staff members involved had not been harmed and had remained on site to help police with their enquiries.