TWO betting offices were targeted by gun-toting robbers just 30 minutes apart.

Now police have put out an urgent appeal for anyone who spotted the raiders in either Leeds Road or Crosland Moor.

The robberies happened in the middle of yesterday and both armed police and the force’s helicopter swooped low over the town as the dramatic hunt for the men unfolded.

A young man was later arrested in the Crosland Moor area and taken to Huddersfield police headquarters where he was still being questioned today.

The drama began at 11am when two men walked into the Jack Pearson office on Leeds Road, close to Ricky's Bar.

The manager had just opened up and they threatened him with a gun before stealing cash.

As armed police were drafted in to search for the men, reports came in of a second raid, this time at the Jack Pearson office on Blackmoorfoot Road in Crosland Moor.

Again two men walked into the office and threatened the manager with a gun, but fled empty-handed when he hid from them.

Det Sgt Seth Robinson, of Kirklees CID, said: “After the first raid the men ran off down Vine Street to the towpath of the nearby Huddersfield Broad Canal.

“They then ran along the canal in the direction of Deighton before eventually emerging further down Leeds Road where we believe they were still running. That’s the last sighting we have of them.

“Did anyone see them running away or get a good look at them hanging around the Leeds Road area beforehand?”

The men both had their faces covered. One wore a black hooded top and the other a grey one.

The descriptions of the men who tried to rob the second office are similar.

Det Sgt Robinson added: “We are keeping an open mind, but there was enough time for the same suspects to have carried out both robberies so we are looking at the possibility they are linked.

“Did anyone see them in Crosland Moor? If so, were they in a car or on any other form of transport?”

Anyone with information should contact detectives in Huddersfield on 0845 6060606 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.