Security guard fights off armed robbers
The Group 4 security guard was delivering cash to the Bank of Ireland in Hazelwood Shopping Centre, Glanmire, at about 10.15am yesterday when the two armed raiders pounced.
They drew up in a blue/grey Ford Mondeo, which had been stolen in the midlands last March.
The two raiders who jumped from the car were dressed in dark boiler suits and wore balaclavas.
One of them, armed with a sawn-off shotgun, stood watch at the bank’s entrance while his accomplice, who was armed with a sledgehammer, ran inside.
According to witnesses, he started screaming for staff to hand over the cash. There were three customers and eight staff in the bank at the time and they were said to be very shocked by the ordeal.
The security man, who is in his mid-30s, fought with the raider and managed to take the sledgehammer off him.
The raider ran out of the bank and, according to an eyewitness in a nearby shop, shouted: “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
The two men ran empty-handed back to their car and sped off towards Brooklodge village.
It is believe they then took a series of rural roads towards Glounthaune.
Their getaway car was found burnt-out at Windsor Hill, Glounthaune, a few minutes later by gardaí, but by the time they arrived the two men had fled.
The car had a slightly different front number plate from that on the rear.
Both plates were 08-D registrations.
A Garda spokesman said there “was great credit due to the security guard” for preventing the robbery.
Bystanders had earlier watched in shock as the raiders struck.
Some women in a nearby shop locked the front door to protect themselves. “I heard shouting, they were very aggressive and I locked the door. It was very frightening,” one woman said.
A man who came across the attempted robbery said that quite a few people were walking aroundthe shopping centre at the time.
“I saw what was going on and rang the gardaí,” he said. “But it was all over in less than two minutes and they took off. The raiders didn’t threaten any bystanders.”
A Garda spokesman appealed for anybody who saw the car earlier that morning, or later as it sped in the direction of Glounthaune to contact them.
“We are also anxious to speak to anybody who was in the Windsor Hill area to contact us. We want to find out where the men went after they burnt out the car,” the spokesman said.
Detectives haven’t ruled out the possibility that the same gang may have stashed three stolen vehicles in Glounthaune early last month as they prepared for this armed raid.
Gardaí managed to seize the vehicles before they could be used.
Anybody with information about the bank robbery is asked to contact Cobh Garda Station at (021) 4908530.
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