A TERRIFIED attendant at a Dudbridge petrol station was robbed at gunpoint by thugs wearing balaclavas.

The two men, clad in dark clothes, burst into the Dudbridge Garage and threatened the employee with a black hand gun before speeding off in a getaway vehicle with around £300 in cash, a small number of cigarettes and some bottles of alcohol.

Staff were left shaken by the incident at 5am on Saturday at the station in Dudbridge Road, Susie Hawkins, a partner in the company, said they are doing their best to support each other.

"They have all been brilliant," she said.

"Obviously it's a horrible thing to happen to anyone but they have all rallied round.

"We have panic buttons and procedures in place. Unfortunately these things happen and although we will review all our procedures I'm not sure what could have been done to stop it."

Detective Inspector Mark Little, who is in charge of the case at Stroud police, urged anyone with information about the hold-up to come forward.

"This was an extremely shocking incident for members of staff working at the garage," he said.

"We would appeal to the public to help us by getting in touch if they have any information about the robbery."

Call the police on 0845 090 1234.