POLICE are hunting two men following an armed robbery outside a bank that was almost an exact replica of a previous attack that happened 12 weeks ago to the day.

POLICE are hunting two men following an armed robbery outside a bank that was almost an exact replica of a previous attack that happened 12 weeks ago to the day.

A security guard driving a blue armoured Securicor van was forced to hand over cash after he was hit in the face with a butt of a handgun outside Lloyds TSB in Nacton Road, Ipswich, at around 9.30am yesterday.

The guard, who has not been named, was later taken to Ipswich Hospital to receive treatment for an injured eye.

He was approached by two men wearing balaclavas, one of which demanded money, ripped off his helmet and attacked him using the end of the handgun, before both ran off into Nacton Crescent.

The robbery was almost identical to one on a Securicor van outside the same bank on Friday November 18 at almost exactly the same time - 10.10am - involving three men.

In that incident when the guard returned to his van, which was parked directly outside the bank, a man ran up behind him holding what appeared to be a handgun.

The offender and two further men pushed the security guard against the back of the van and made demands. All three men ran from the scene with a quantity of money towards Nacton Crescent.

Yesterday Sandy Maile, 48, who works in the St Elizabeth Hospice shop next to the bank, said: “I'm still shaken up. I was here before and I had to do the same thing and raise the alarm.

“I was in the shop and it was quiet at the time and we had someone in to service our till. I was talking to him and it was going on behind him. The Securicor van pulled up, and I think he had been into the bank. They went round the back of the van. I have an image in my head of someone leaning over and shouting. I saw two people but I didn't see the Securicor man. Then they were pushing him and I think there was a struggle.”

Both offenders wore dark balaclavas and the first man is described of stocky build wearing a fluorescent jacket and the second wearing a duffel coat.

A short while after the robbery police were informed that a red VW Golf car had been abandoned in Serpentine Road, Ipswich.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk police said they were unsure whether the vehicle was linked to the robbery but they were keen to hear from anyone who saw the car being abandoned in the area.

A spokesperson for G4S Cash Services, the company which owns Securicor, said: “This is yet another attack on a G4S Cash Services courier in the region over the last few months and reflects a broader national trend of attacks against the cash-in-transit industry. We are working closely with the police to address the specific threat to our couriers and members of the public in Ipswich.”

Anyone with information should cal Detective Sergeant Ewan MacGregor at Ipswich CID on 01473 623500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.