Robbers grab snooker cash

Police are seeking three people after the armed robbery. File photo / NZ Herald

Terrified patrons were forced to lie on the ground as they were robbed at gunpoint at a Hamilton snooker club.

A woman knocked on the front door of the Waikato Snooker and Eight Ball Club on Rostrevor St about 9pm on Sunday and was buzzed in by staff, police said yesterday.

She was followed by two balaclava-clad men who were armed with a gun. They menaced patrons and staff and demanded money.

They fled with cash and might have driven off in a black hatchback, police said.

Club president Bernie Endres said the pool hall was busy but nobody was hurt during the robbery.

Staff and patrons were left shaken by the incident, and the club had remained closed yesterday, he said.

Police described the woman as a light-skinned Maori or Pacific Islander, in her early 20s, with dark long hair and a chubby face.

She was wearing sunglasses and a dark, anorak-style coat with long black trousers with a red stripe.

One of the men was short and stocky and wearing a dark-coloured jacket.

The second man was also short and was carrying a blue and black bag with a small red logo on the front.

One witness said at least one of the men was carrying what appeared to be a sawn-off shotgun.

Police want anyone with information on the raid to contact them.

- NZPA