Police are hunting a ruthless gunman who fired his pistol "several times'' in a double armed robbery -- only to see the weapon misfire.

Horrified staff at the Van Buren gas station in Flatts were held up by two masked men, one brandishing a pistol.

And a Police insider revealed the main robber pulled the trigger of his gun repeatedly, only for the mechanism to fail.

The source said: "The trigger was pulled several times and it appeared to the victim as though the gun jammed.'' It is believed the two robbers grabbed cash before speeding off on a bike along Middle Road just after 3.20 p.m. yesterday.

And less than 30 minutes later, they were holding up a Devonshire grocery store, pointing a gun at cashiers and forcing them to unload tills.

A staff member at the Garden Market on Middle Road said: "They got away with cash but we don't know how much yet. Thankfully the gun was not fired.'' But two victims and one witness from the earlier robbery told detectives in the major incident room at Prospect that the weapon had been fired at them, but no bullets were discharged.

One of the victims, a gas station cashier, was understood to be a teenage boy.

And his mother told The Royal Gazette yesterday: "I'm too nervous to speak.

They held up my boy.'' She added: "All I know is that it was two men with a gun. My children work here and I was picking up cigarettes. My son was held up.'' Another witness, who asked not to be named, said: "The two guys ran out and got away on a bike.

"One of them was wearing a wrap-around mask and the other one had a ski mask on.'' A Police spokesman confirmed detectives were probing both robberies and were hunting two men, saying no arrests had yet been made. He added: "We can confirm that the bike was stolen. A short while after the first robbery, there was a report of a second armed robbery at the Garden Market grocery store in Devonshire. It would appear that the two robberies are linked.'' He also had words of praise for the victims in both robberies.

"It was a terrible ordeal for them,'' the spokesman added. "The Police commend their actions, they remained steadfast in the face of real terror and thankfully nobody was hurt in either incident.'' Detectives have issued brief descriptions of the two suspects. They were both wearing dark clothing and had either orange or red scarves around their faces.

One wore a white crash helmet, the other a black one.

Their getaway bike was described as being either dark blue or black.

After hitting the Van Buren gas station the pair headed off in a westerly direction. Following the second raid they were seen to flee in an easterly direction. Police are now appealing for witnesses to contact major incident room detectives on 299-4326.

Information can also be given free and in confidence to Crimestoppers on 1-800-623-8477.

Crime scene: Police start inquiries at the Van Buren gas station in Flatts Village yesterday.