The owner of an Aldershot betting shop held up by robbers armed with guns has blamed the attack on the recession.

Two balaclava-clad men threatened staff with a gun at Eden Bookmakers in North Lane on March 3 at around 8.30pm.

Police said they stole £900 before speeding away in a green 4x4 driven by a third man. All three wore balaclavas and dark clothing.

Mark Eden, who runs the chain’s 12 branches with his brother Chris, said it was the first robbery of one of Eden’s branches outside London.

Eden has branches across the Star Courier area, including two in Aldershot, one in Hook and one in Sandhurst.

Speaking from Eden’s head office in Yorktown Road, Sandhurst, Mr Eden said: “Basically people now are short of cash and know they can get away with it.

“We’ve got branches in Richmond, Surbiton and Kingston. In the last ten years we’ve had six robberies at those three branches.
 
“They were all similar to this one, men armed wearing crash helmets and what have you.

“In London we see it as an inherent risk but out here we’ve never seen it before. I think it’s because of the credit crunch.”

Nobody was hurt in the robbery in North Lane.

The gunmen struck half an hour before the shop was due to close at 9pm when there was one customer still inside.

Mr Eden, who was not at the bookmakers at the time of the robbery, heard about the incident shortly after it happened on March 3.

He said a member of staff rang him that night to tell him what had happened.

Mr Eden and his brother visited the branch the next day, when it was open for business as usual.

He said sentences for such offences should be strict.

“If they get ten years for armed robbery then that’s about a week for every pound they stole from us,” he said.

Police are still appealing for witnesses and information about the incident.

In a statement to the Star Courier, Detective Constable Dawn White from Aldershot CID asked anyone who had seen the car or had information to call police as soon as possible. Some shopkeepers near the bookmakers did not see or hear anything.

Matt Roberts, who runs Premier Dry Cleaners, two shops down from Eden, was not in his shop when the robbery happened but said he had not seen anything suspicious earlier in the day.

The first he heard about the incident was when a customer told him about it on Thursday.

“I’ve worked here three years and I’ve never heard of anything like this happening to a shop in North Lane,” Mr Roberts said.

“When I set up the business I was told something like that had happened to every shop along here.

“I grew up in Eastern Road and I don’t think this area is as bad as that.”

Andy Wilson, who works in Aldershot Scooters Ltd, also near Eden Bookmakers, said a police officer had visited his shop on March 4 asking if he had seen anything.

Anyone with information should call Det Con White on 0845 0454545 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.