Gardaí examine getaway car after armed raid

GARDAÍ were last night examining a four-wheel drive used as a getaway car after an armed raid on a Meath pub.

Workers at the Silver Tankard, on the Navan to Kells Road, had been cleaning the pub when four men got in shortly after 1am yesterday.

They were wearing balaclavas and pub staff said they carried baseball bats, a crowbar and a sledgehammer.

Three staff members were forced into a cold-room by a gang who broke into the bar after Sunday night closing.

The raiders made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and cigarettes, described by gardaí as significant but “not huge.”

The beige Isuzu Trooper in which they made their getaway was found by gardaí yesterday morning.

“It was discovered during follow-up searches in a lock-up shed not far away from the pub in Tankardstown,” a garda spokesperson said.

A team of garda technical experts spent the day carrying out checks of the four-wheel drive and the shed in fine detail for evidence to help the investigation.

Despite the trauma of the break-in, none of the bar staff was hurt in the incident.

“They were put into the pub’s cold room and the alarm was raised when they managed to get themselves out after about half an hour,” said the garda spokesperson.

Detectives at Navan garda station (046) 21445 are investigating the raid and asked anybody with information to contact them.