A brave cashier is recovering after fighting off three robbers who tried to snatch the day's takings.
The men struck at three separate garages in Essex and Suffolk last night (Wednesday).
They first went to the Jet service station in East Hill, Eastgates, Colchester, at about 7.30pm, and tried to buy a canned drink.
Det Sgt Roger Napier, of Colchester police, said: "They made a big show of scraping the money together between them.
"Then it was not the right money but when the till was opened at least two men grabbed at the cash in the open drawer."
But cashier Trevor Ebdon managed to grab and hang on to the money.
"There was a tug of war for a short while and the money was dropped on the floor out of their reach," said Det Sgt Napier.
Mr Ebdon, who is 26 today (Thursday), was left with a grazed hand after the attack but declined hospital treatment.
Police have examined the garage's CCTV and have good pictures of the robbers. They are described as black men, all aged about 19, and spoke with distinctive accents.
One wore a beanie hat and donkey jacket. He was light-skinned Caribbean in appearance, had a chubby face and was clean shaven.
The second wore a distinctive black flying-type hat with flaps over the ears, a black jacket and black T-shirt and was carrying a mobile phone. He had a small moustache and possibly a beard.
The third wore a pale blue baseball cap, and a sweatshirt with a hood and was considerably taller than the other two. He was clean shaven and walked with a limp.
After running off empty-handed in the direction of Ipswich Road the robbers - this time four men - struck again less than an hour later in Ipswich.
They made off with a small amount of cash. They also struck at the Shell Travellers Check garage at Birchwood Services in Ipswich Road, Dedham.
They bought some cigarettes and, when the till was opened for change, they grabbed it from the woman cashier.
The four men then drove off in a red V-reg Peugeot 306.
Det Sgt Napier said: "The woman at the till was very frightened and shaken but not harmed."
Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 01206 762212 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111
Praise for bravery
The manageress of the Jet service station praised cashier Trevor Ebdon for foiling the robbers.
Dana Thorpe said: "He was very brave. But he was extremely lucky. One of them could have had something in their hand and whacked him over the head with it.
"I always tell staff in those situations to let them have the cash but the initial reaction is 'you're not having it'."
Det Sgt Roger Napier said: "He was brave but these were desperate acts by desperate men. There is never very much money in garage tills so they risk long jail sentences for not much gain."
Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article