Three raiders were chased by staff after snatching a till from a Bradford supermarket – before dropping it close to the exit.

Police are investigating after the men fled with the till at Tesco on Halifax Road, Buttershaw, at around 1.20am on Saturday, before ditching it on nearby Bottomley Street.

Two of the men are believed to have distracted staff at the store, while the other carried the till from the customer service kiosk.

Mo Rahman, duty manager at the store, said the group may have abandoned the till because it was “heavy”.

“It is difficult to move, we’ve tried to do it ourselves. Our tills are bolted down, so I don’t know if they had any tools.

“It’s also full of change. It must be difficult to carry that weight.”

Mr Rahman said the men entered the store together and two of them then went on to cause a “distraction” as the other targeted the till.

“We thought they had got away with the till, but they dropped it by the exit.

“As far as I’m aware they got away with some of the money, but not all of it.

“When they dropped it, that’s what alerted staff and around three or four gave chase to no avail.

“I think they must have thought it was a quiet time of night and not much traffic in terms of people around.

“It’s not something that happens regularly and I think they must have spontaneously decided to do it.

“This is not something that has happened in the two years I’ve been here. I’ve spoken to other staff who’ve been here longer and they have said the same.”

Police say the incident was caught on CCTV and appealed for anyone who may have been shopping in the store at that time and spotted anything suspicious to get in touch.

One of the suspects is described as white, aged between 25 to 30 years, 5ft 7ins, of slim build with dark short brown hair and wearing a grey hooded top with blue jeans.

Anyone with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, in confidence, on 0800 555111.