GARDAÍ HAVE ISSUED an appeal for witnesses in connection with the robbery of a petrol station in Co Kildare and the false imprisonment of two staff members.

The two workers were locking up at the ‘Top’ station on the Kilkenny Road when they were threatened by two men wearing balaclavas and holding knives.

The workers were forced into a back room where the men demanded money, according to gardaí.

The two raiders couldn’t access the safe – so they placed one of the staff members in a car and drove away from the scene with him.

They then told the second staff member to bring cash from the safe. They met on the Kilkenny Road between the Top Garage and Loughman’s Garage, where the handover was made.

The staff member who had been taken away in the car was released unharmed and gardaí were alerted.

The worker who was forced to remain on the floor while his colleague was taken away said his phone was taken by the raiders as they left. The safe at the service station was on a time lock.

“A phone call came through, they told me to wait until the safe was open and put cash into a bag,” he said.

The staff member, who does not wish to be named, said he was warned that the young man’s life was in his hands. He was strictly ordered not to contact the gardaí.

In an appeal issued this afternoon, gardaí said they wished to hear from witnesses who may have:

• Seen a car acting suspiciously around the Top service station on the evening of the 14th (Friday) around 9pm
• Who may have seen suspicious activity on the Kilkenny Road Athy between the Top Garage and Loughman’s Garage  around 9pm
• Any other information

Gardaí believe that the suspects were driving a Mazda 323F

Gardaí can be contacted at:

• Athy station: 059 8634210
• The Garda Confidential Line: 1800 666 111
• Or any Garda station

- With reporting from Louise McCarthy 

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