A gas station run by the Leader of the Opposition was robbed yesterday in a daylight raid by two men with a blade and what appeared to be a handgun.

Terrified customers, which included children and staff, watched in horror as the two threatened the duty manager before they escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Craig Cannonier, a former premier and owner of the Esso Tigermarket in Warwick, said: “The evening manager was threatened at gunpoint.

“He couldn’t stop shaking afterwards. There were customers, including a lady with children.

“For them to go through that kind of experience in broad daylight is extremely disturbing.”

No one was injured in the raid. Mr Cannonier said that staff were trained “not to take things into their own hands”.

He added: “You can recover from physical injuries. The psychological injuries are going to be scars for a long time.”

Mr Cannonier said: “My message is, Bermuda, someone is going to be spending this money. Someone knows who this was. We can no longer continue to treat each other like this.

“We have to look after one another better. I know it’s hard times, but we are inflicting this pain on one another.

“At the end of the day, you’re taking not from an establishment, but from an employee who is just here trying to feed his family.”

The robbers struck at the Esso Tigermarket on Middle Road at about 4.20pm.

A police spokesman said two males wearing black clothing and full-face helmets produced the weapons and demanded money. The men were said to be between 5ft 10in and 6ft tall.

The robbery was similar to a raid on the Ice Queen takeaway restaurant in Paget last week.

The police spokesman said it was too early to say if the two robberies were linked.

The robbers were said to have arrived on foot, but may have had vehicles hidden near by.

Mr Cannonier said the gas station had new security cameras which would help the inquiry.

Police have appealed for witnesses.

Anyone with information that could help should contact CID on 295-0011 or the confidential Crime Stoppers hotline on 800-8477.