A REWARD of £5,000 has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of armed robbers who stole money from a building society.

The robbers stole what is believed to be thousands of pounds from a Securicor crew after forcing them to unload a cash machine they were filling up.

The robbers attacked the crew as they were delivering a large amount of cash to a branch of the Nationwide in Watling Street, Gillingham.

The robbery happened just before 10am on Bank Holiday Monday. A police spokesman said: "The crew were attacked by a number of people, one of whom had a firearm."

As two of the guards were leaving the branch they were confronted by the robbers who forced them back inside and made them unload money from the cash machine.

The police spokesman added: "Two of the crew were made to go and empty the machine of its cash while a third crew member stayed with the vehicle. None of the crew members were injured. The suspects made off in a car.

"It is too early in the investigation to give firm descriptions of the suspects as we are still making our enquiries and gathering evidence from witnesses."

A spokesman for Securicor said: "The safety of our staff and the public is of paramount importance and, as such, we are offering a £5,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible."

Medway police are appealing for anyone with information to either contact them on 01634 884252 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. All calls to Crimestoppers are free and are treated in confidence.