A hammer-weilding gang of robbers forced a terrified manageress to hand over £11,500 during a raid at a Shipley convenience store this morning.

Two men in balaclavas smashed a door panel then burst into the One Stop shop in Bradford Road at 6.52am.

One was armed with a hammer and the woman worker was threatened until she opened the store’s safe.

She was then made to let the robbers out of a back door, where a getaway driver was waiting in a dark blue vehicle.

Detectives also believe there may have been a fourth man acting as a look-out at the front of the popular shop.

West Yorkshire police have issued descriptions of the men wanted in connection with the raid.

“One of the two men who entered the shop was about 5ft 9ins wearing dark jeans and a dark long-sleeved top.

“He was very stocky and muscular,” a police spokesman said.

“The other was shorter at about 5ft 6ins and also of muscular build. He wore dark tracksuit bottoms with a single white stripe and a dark long sleeved top.

“The driver is described as about 6ft tall and also well-built.

“All are thought to be white males and spoke with local accents,” he said.

Investigating officers are interviewing staff at the store and studying CCTV and traffic cameras to trace the movements of the getaway vehicle.