DETECTIVES were last night hunting the driver of a blue Rolls Royce in connection with a raid on an Essex pub owned by the parents of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

DETECTIVES were last night hunting the driver of a blue Rolls Royce in connection with a raid on an Essex pub owned by the parents of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

Last month armed robbers burst into the Cricketers pub, near Stansted, owned by Trevor and Sally Oliver, and forced the manageress to hand over money from the safe.

The gang, who were armed with hammers and baseball bats, escaped with between £8,000 and £10,000.

Last night it emerged Essex Police are now searching for the owner of a Rolls Royce with a noisy exhaust seen near the Clavering-based pub a few hours before the robbery, which happened on April 15.

But the force would not state whether the owner and passengers of the blue prestige car are being treated as witnesses or suspects.

A police spokesman said: “We don't know whether they were involved or not.

“But we would like to speak to the occupants of the car which was seen in the vicinity of the pub at around 7pm.”

He added the vehicle in question is an “older style” Rolls Royce and may have been a Silver Spirit.

Mr Oliver's parents were not at the pub when it was raided but following the attack the Naked Chef star offered a £150,000 reward to anybody with information that might help catch the balaclava clad robbers.

Speaking to the EADT shortly after the incident, Trevor Oliver said: “Four armed men came in at about closing time.

“Where we are, out in the country, not many people are about late at night so they (staff) were clearing up when they came in.

“They used threatening behaviour and took the weekend's takings - they knew what they were going for and were not going to be put off. They got what they wanted.”

During the raid a man aged in his 80s who worked in the kitchen was pushed over and another person was hit on the arm and suffered bruising.

Mr Oliver has run the Cricketers with his wife, Sally, for 32 years and taught his famous son to cook at the pub when he was a teenager.

He said the incident had been “a shock” and added: “It doesn't go with the area we live in. People are not used to it.

“I have always thought we live in a little backwater, not far away from trouble but far enough, but it came and hunted us out last night.

“However, good always overcomes evil.”

Speaking after the raid, Jamie Oliver said he was disappointed to hear of the robbery and that it was “like something from inner city LA.”

Anybody with information is asked to contact the police on 01799 513232 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.