By JANE FIELD

STAFF and customers were left in "shock and amazement" after gangs of armed robbers one of whom was wearing a Scream mask raided a garden centre twice in one day.

But it is not yet known if the two robberies at Bents Garden Centre, Glazebury, are linked or just coincidence.

At 3.40pm on Wednesday, two security guards were collecting cash from the centre when the first pair struck.

One of the men was waiting in the vehicle while his colleague collected the cash. As he walked towards the van, he heard men shouting that he hand over the box, then spotted two men running at him, armed with a baseball bat and a sledgehammer.

One was wearing a balaclava and the other was wearing a skeleton mask made famous by the Scream films.

Staff and customers watched in horror as they grabbed the box, splitting it open with a sledgehammer releasing red dye from the tamper proof device.

One of the men grabbed the money and police believe he would have been covered in dye.

They escaped, heading down Warrington Road towards Culcheth in a brown H reg Nissan Priarie which was reported stolen from Maghull on Tuesday. The car was later found abandoned in the George and Dragon Pub car park.

The man in the skeleton mask is between 5ft 8ins and 5ft 10ins tall, of stocky build. His accomplice was also of stocky build.

Later that day, at around 8.10pm, four males entered the cash office in the store wielding various weapons, including a cricket wicket. They threatened two members of staff who approached them and made an unsuccessful attempt to obtain the cash. They escaped in a black car with blacked out rear windows, possibly a Toyota Celica, last seen heading towards Leigh.

Bents' sales and marketing manager Matthew Bents says it is fortunate that just a few customers witnessed the incidents.

"None of the visiting customers to Bents were injured or involved in the incidents. Staff and security officers at the store were shaken up but unharmed and have pulled together to ensure the team is even more vigilant than before.

"The police are investigating the incidents and increasing patrols in the area. Bents is taking steps to re-examine and further tighten its already existing high levels of security."

The first of the four robbers in the later attack is described as being 6ft tall of medium build with a Manchester accent. He was wearing a grey-blue tartan jacket. The second was 5ft 10 ins, of stocky build wearing dark clothing. A third man, who was carrying a red-handled wrench is of stocky build and around 5ft 6ins tall, and the fourth man is 6ft tall, of medium build and was wearing dark clothing.

Nobody was injured in either of the incidents. Anyone with information is asked to ring detectives in Warrington on 01244 613633 or Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.