GUN terror returned to Usk last night - with the third armed robbery in the area in the past five months.

The small town had not recovered from the trauma of an armed robbery at the Bridge Street post office two weeks ago when last night, three masked raiders held customers at gunpoint at a local store.

The robbers, one armed with a baseball bat and another with a handgun, went into the Spar shop in Bridge Street just before 6.30pm yesterday.

About 15 staff and customers were in the shop. The robbers forced a number of them to lie on the ground, demanded the contents of the till and made off.

Mark Crauxford, joint proprietor of the Spar shop, said he did not know how much money the armed robbers had got away with but it was unlikely to be much because the evening staff did not have access to a safe box where the majority of the day's takings were kept.

He added: "We tell staff to hand over cash in situations like this and not offer any resistance. Thankfully no one was injured in the store and staff did exactly what was asked of them.

"We will need to take a long hard look at security procedures in the store and see if we can improve them. We do have CCTV cameras in the store and they are being studied by police."

A customer, retained fireman Anthony Baker of Monmouth Road, Usk, chased the robbers to the Maryport Street car park where he was knocked to the ground with a baseball bat and suffered a two-inch gash to his head. The gang made off in a dark blue Subaru.

This morning, after treatment at Abergavenny's Nevill Hall Hospital, Mr Baker was recovering at home. Mr Crauxford said: "It takes a great deal of bravery to do what he did, particularly in a state of shock."

Police are linking the incident with a robbery at the One Stop Shop at Creigiau near Cardiff just over an hour before at 5.10pm.

Gwent Police say they also cannot rule out a link with the post office robbery two weeks ago and the robbery of a house in Llanbadoc.

Detective Inspector Jon Williams of Gwent police said: "We believe that the incidents (Usk and Creigiau) may well be linked based on information received by witnesses. Two robberies in the space of a fortnight in a small town like Usk is unusual to say the least."

The incident comes only a fortnight after three armed men held a woman at gunpoint, threatened a pensioner with a cosh and held a customer at knifepoint when robbing the Post Office. More than £2,000 was stolen. In another armed incident in June, four men broke into a house in Llanbadoc.

Terrified owner James Gundy, 33, was tied up with a washing line and the raiders got away with about £100,000 of goods. To date, no arrests have been made.

Anyone with any information about the robberies is urged to call Gwent police on 01633 838111 or Crime-Stoppers on 0800 555111.