A FEMALE worker is recovering after being robbed at knife-point during a terrifying raid on a Swords bookmakers last Friday week. Two men wearing balaclavas burst into the Ladbrokes unit in Kinsealy Shopping Centre at around 12.30pm on Friday, December 4th. One of the raiders was brandishing a knife and it's understood the three customers in the store were told not to move, while staff were ordered to open a door leading to the counter.

The pair forced a staff member to open a safe and made off with a sum of cash, fleeing on foot in the direction of the Feltrim Road. Swords gardaí have launched an investigation into the aggravated robbery and said the pair were both wearing black balaclavas and white runners. ' Two males entered the shop, one of whom was carrying a knife,' a senior Garda told the Fingal Independent. ' They shouted at customers and staff and told them not to move.

'They ordered staff to open the back door and then went behind the counter. They took money from the till and demanded the safe to be opened.

' They then took money from the safe and made their way out of the front door and escaped on foot onto the Feltrim Road.' Anyone with information is asked to contact Swords Garda Station on 6664700. Meanwhile, a number of arrests were made for minor shoplifting offences in Swords over the weekend.

- Robin KIELY