A gang of masked robbers today escaped with a haul of cash from a bank in Telford. They smashed a window and grabbed the money from terrified staff as they loaded the cash machine inside.

The four thieves, wearing balaclavas, targeted Lloyds TSB bank in Dawley High Street shortly after 9am today.

Police, who have sealed off the bank, said it was not yet known how much the thieves escaped with but it is expected to run into several hundreds of pounds.

They said it was a planned robbery due to the exact timing of when the cash machine was being loaded.

One horrified bystander described how she saw a car “zooming” backwards down the High Street before three men burst out.

She said: “They had a truncheon and they smashed the window down then jumped in. One stopped in the car. They were passing out cash boxes.”

She said she rushed into a nearby business for safety as the thieves escaped in a getaway car at high speed.

Smashed

Telford Police spokesman Chris Ammonds said raiders in a black, Volkswagen Golf, registration S3ROY, had pulled up by the bank between 9am and 9.20am.

He said they leapt out of the car, smashed a window alongside the cashpoint machine as it was being loaded, and snatched cash bags and boxes before fleeing.

The Golf car was recovered by police in Little Dawley and is now being examined by forensic teams.

Amanda Beckett, owner of Dawley Pet Supplies, which is next to the bank, said: “There was a lot of commotion. One of our regular customers was outside and there was a car reversing back, she had to run in here to get away.”

Eve Speight, spokeswoman for Lloyds TSB, said: “The police are investigating and it’s likely the bank will be closed for the remainder of the day.”

She said anyone who helped to bring those responsible to justice could receive a reward of up to £25,000.

The robbery comes a day after knife-wielding thugs terrified a 50-year-old woman into withdrawing about £200 from the same cashpoint.