Masked men who stormed a betting shop and pointed a gun at staff members are the "lowest of the low", terrified shopkeepers have said.

The gang, one of whom had a gun, entered Ladbrokes betting shop in Manor Way, Borehamwood, and forced their way behind the shop counter at 9.20pm on Monday.

They then raided the till before removing cash from the safe and placing it in a black rucksack.

Police raced to scene but the three men had already fled the shop. Nobody was hurt.

The raid follows an attempted robbery at Ladbrokes in Shenley Road in January, in which a man holding a weapon left empty handed when cashiers refused to hand over money.

Shopkeepers in the area have been left horrified by what happened and said they are now taking extra measures to ensure their shops are secure.

Anushka Rajani, who works in the nearby Post Office, said: "I heard about it and thought it was terrifying.

"I am going to put CCTV in because these days, you can’t takes risks, you can never be too careful. It is sad it has come down to that, but we need to protect ourselves.

"I can sympathise with what happened because thugs broke into our shop a few years ago and started banging on the counter with hammers.

"It is all very scary."

Shop assistant Amit Vyas, who works at Nisa Local, said he saw around four police cars zoom down the road at top speed.

He praised them for their speedy response in dealing with the crime.

He added: "The people that did this are the lowest of the low, it is a horrible thing to do and I was really surprised when I found out people are capable of doing that here.

"I had no idea what was going on but I saw a lot of police cars, so I went outside and heard someone say there was an armed robbery.

"I was very impressed with the police though, they came so quickly."

No arrests have been made and detectives are currently hunting the three men, who are described as aged 18 to 30 and of Middle Easter appearance.

Nobody was hurt during the incident, but police say staff members were left "extremely distressed" by what happened.

Raj Saja, shopkeeper at Manor Food and Wine, said: "Customers who saw it came in and told me about it – my initial reaction was pure shock.

"I am glad nobody was hurt. It is a frightening thought but we work late at night so we could have been caught up in that.

"It makes you realise anything can happen here and nowhere is safe."

The three men are all described as aged 18 to 30 and of Middle Eastern appearance.

Witnesses are being urged to telephone police on 101 or speak to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.