Robbers terrorise bar workers

Masked men with a softball bat and knife "terrorised" two female workers during a robbery at a Mount Maunganui bar.

Two balaclava-clad robbers repeatedly threatened to kill the two staff at Seafarers Bar and Grill in the Tauranga suburb yesterday.

They eventually locked one of the women in a toilet, the other in a nearby room, ransacked an office, took money, and fled.

The women were today off work recovering from the trauma of the early morning heist.

Bar manager Glenn Forster said the women, one in her 30s the other in her 40s, were shaken and scarred by the experience.

"They are still recovering but they were pretty much terrorised. We are pretty damn angry here," he said.

"We are one big family here and we take it personally when things like this happen."

The women were near the end of a 12-hour shift when the two robbers burst in about 3.50am, demanding money.

One woman escaped a few minutes after the men left and called police.

One of the staff involved had completed an armed hold-up seminar and remembered what she had been told, Mr Forster said.

"It's one of those things that you know can happen but just never expect it to."

Detective Sergeant Todd Pearce said the robbers got away with a "significant amount" of $2 coins as well as a small grey safe.

Detectives yesterday analysed security camera footage and Port security tapes in a bid to identify the robbers.

"These women were terrified. They were threatened numerous times and they did exactly the right thing by doing what they were told," Mr Pearce said.

"It was probably was a direct result of their compliance that no-one was physically hurt."

Mr Pearce said a dog tracked the men from the building but then lost the scent not far away.

- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES