A GANG of armed robbers is being hunted after getting away with tens of thousands of pounds in a hold-up at Basingstoke hospital.

The raiders went into the main entrance of the hospital at about 11.40am on Tuesday, November 28, brandishing what the police believe was a metal bar.

They intercepted a guard from Group 4 Securicor who was making a deposit to a cash machine near to the entrance of the outpatients dep-artment.

The crooks, who wore balaclavas or scarves pulled up over their faces, then hit the guard over the head with a metal bar and grabbed the cash box.

Detectives believe that three men - including a getaway driver - were involved in the incident and that a black car, possibly an Audi A3 or A4, was waiting outside the main entrance.

The cash box was discovered not far away from the crime scene - but all the money inside was gone.

Volunteers at the flower shop inside the main reception at the hospital, who did not want to be named, told The Gazette that they saw two young men run past them as the drama unfolded.

One said: "They were waving something around and they shouted get back'."

Derek Primmer, a parking super-visor at the hospital, said he and colleagues had supervised the parking of the Group 4 Securicor van earlier that morning and had seen an Audi car driving erratically around the car park.

He said: "The car was going quite fast but I didn't think much of it. We thought it was just a couple of chavs in a tuned-up car.

"I waved at them to slow down as they were going across a zebra crossing, but they just gestured at me and shouted.

"I saw them go around by The Ark centre and they overtook another car but, again, we are used to people getting irate here, so I didn't think much of it. The first I knew of this robbery was when I came back through reception."

A police spotter plane was dispatched to scour the area after the alarm was raised but there was no sign of the robbers.

Detectives are now examining CCTV footage in the hope that they can identify the culprits behind the carefully-planned raid.

Detective Inspector Mark Bissell, of Basingstoke CID, said: "Fortunately, the secur-ity guard was not injured in what was a violent attack.

"There were many people in the area at the time of the incident who saw what happened and we would like to hear from them.

"We'd also like to hear from anyonewho saw at least two men in a dark-coloured vehicle acting suspiciously in the area on the Tuesday morning, or who saw a vehicle being driven erratically shortly after the incident."

Anyone with any information that can help the inquiry is asked to contact Det Insp Bissell, at Basingstoke CID, on 0845 045 4545.