Gardaí hunt two raiders after separate robberies

GARDAÍ in Limerick and Waterford were last night searching for two raiders involved in separate robberies yesterday.

Limerick gardaí backed up by armed detectives were last night searching for a lone raider after a high-speed car chase.

The garda operation was concentrated in Southill where the getaway vehicle was abandoned.

At about 1.15pm the raider held a screwdriver to the throat of a bank customer and ordered staff at the AIB branch in Raheen to hand over money.

The raider abandoned a stolen jeep in Southill after a high speed chase through the city suburbs.

The man, believed to be in his late teens, wore a scarf around his face while in the bank. About €2,000 was handed over to him, and he then ran to his parked jeep outside the bank.

A garda patrol chased the car through Ballinacurra and Rosbrien before the jeep careered into Southill.

After abandoning the jeep — which was stolen from a car park at Anne Street earlier in the day — the raider ran through narrow lanes and disappeared.

The money and screw driver were recovered in the jeep.

Detective Sergeant Tom O’Connor said: “We are following a definite line of inquiry and looking at CCTV footage taken from the scene.”

It is believed gardaí have a good description and are looking for a particular suspect.

A forensic examination of the vehicle and the screw driver is being carried out and sniffer dogs have joined the search for the man.

Meanwhile, in Waterford city a man armed with a gun got away with an undisclosed amount of cash in a robbery at a bank.

National Irish Bank at Barronstrand Street was robbed just before 4pm.

No shots were fired, and nobody was injured in the raid. The man made his getaway on foot.