Two armed raiders fled empty handed after they were challenged by security staff when attempting to rob a bank in Co Cork this morning.
The two men, wearing balaclavas and armed with a sawn-off shotgun and a sledgehammer, arrived at Hazelwood Shopping Centre in Glanmire at 10.20am as a G4S security truck was about to make a delivery.
The raider with the sledgehammer went into the bank, while the man with the gun stood guard outside. However, one of the cash delivery security men tackled the raider with the hammer and disarmed him; the man then fled the building empty-handed.
He and his accomplice then escaped in a stolen blue Ford Mondeo, which was later found burned out in Glounthaune some two miles away.
Gardaí believe the men may have had another car stashed there that they used to leave the area.
Anyone who witnessed any suspicious activity in the Glanmire or Windsor Hill areas is asked to contact Cobh Garda station on (021) 4908530 or Glanmire Garda station on (021) 4821002.
