Armed gang botch robbery of McDonalds

Police were today hunting an armed gang which threatened workers during a botched robbery at a McDonalds restaurant.

Two armed men attempted to hold up the fast food outlet in Coleraine, Co Derry, in the early hours of today.

The masked pair threatened staff from outside the restaurant, hitting the window with the butt of a shotgun, at Riverside retail park at around 4.45am.

The employees froze in fear, and the two men panicked before making off on foot towards the Greenlands area without taking anything.

One of them was aged in his mid 20s, was of medium build and wearing a brown hooded top.

Separately, five men armed with a handgun and a baton broke into a courier business premises at West Bank Drive in north Belfast.

They made off in the company’s two white Ford Transit vans which were later found at Colinpark Street and Pollard Street.

Investigating police said they have yet to establish what was taken in the robbery at about 7.10pm.

They have appealed for witnesses.