ARMED police were called to a Valleys town after two men - one masked and brandishing a sawn-off shotgun - were spotted outside a pub.

Police are hunting the two men who they say could be dangerous. The incident happened in Blaina in the early hours of yesterday. The men knocked on the window of the Royal Exchange pub, High Street, at about 1.30am.

They then knocked on the door of a house in Brynteg Road but made no threats to the woman owner who shut the door on them.

Simon Goode, landlord of the Royal Exchange since October, said he and girlfriend Karen Collier and a friend heard a tap on the pub window at around 1.30am.

"I opened the curtains to see a man in a balaclava and with a shotgun, smirking in at me," he said.

The 33-year-old said his girlfriend, who is six months pregnant, hid in the toilets while he and his friend phoned the police from behind the bar. The men knocked again a few minutes later.

"I didn't really panic - I just wanted to know what was going on," he said. "The police arrived and told me that although I couldn't see them, armed police were surrounding the pub."

The trio were ordered to stay in the pub. Detective Sergeant Ian Gough, of Brynmawr CID, said the incident was puzzling.

"We are mystified as to a motive," he said, adding the two men may have been caught on CCTV in the town.

Police are studying the pictures. Blaina councillor Des Hillman said he was "shocked and amazed" by the incident.

He said: "Obviously I am concerned about the safety of local people and hope the police catch these men as soon as possible."

Both men are believed to be in their 20s or 30s. One is described as wearing a ski mask, a dark three-quarter length coat and blue jeans. The other was wearing blue jeans, a fawn-coloured waist-length jacket and no hat.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Ebbw Vale police station on 01495 350999.