ROBBERS wearing balaclavas made off with around £100,000 cash after driving a 4x4 into the locked doors of a bank in Quedgeley.


The thieves broke into the HSBC on the Olympus Centre retail park at 9.25am on Friday as staff were loading money into the cash machine.


A green, double cab Nissan Navara 4x4 was used to force open the main glass door of the building, which was locked at the time.
 

Two men wearing balaclavas entered the building and took around £100,000 in cash.


The car was then seen speeding off from the area.


A police search involving a helicopter took place and officers are now pursuing a number of lines of inquiry and viewing CCTV footage taken in the area.


A car matching the description of the vehicle used was found abandoned in Carters Orchard in Quedgeley on Sunday.


Police would like to hear from anyone who saw the vehicle - registration number SV03 GVL - in the Carters Orchard area or nearby between 9.20am and 9.30am on the day of the ram raid.
 

Officers are particularly keen to speak to customers who tried to use the cash machine, which was out of service, between 9am and 9.25am.


Anyone with information should contact police on 101, quoting incident 120 of October 5 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or go to www.crimestoppers-uk.org.