A YORK petrol station today suffered its second attempted robbery in just over a fortnight when a man entered the premises wielding a hammer.

Police said the raider, who had a hood pulled over his face, entered the Jet Garage in Lawrence Street at about 1.40am.

He pulled the ball hammer out of a plastic bag and shouted at the frightened shop assistant to "put the money in the bag".

But the quick-thinking staff member ran into the back of the garage and pressed the panic alarm button.

The raider, who was wearing a cream jacket and blue jeans, then dropped his bag and ran off.

Today's incident follows another attempted robbery at the garage last month when a different member of staff was confronted by a man with a knife who demanded cash and phone cards.

The raider fled empty-handed when another customer approached.

The manager of Jet Garage, who wished not to be named, told the Evening Press: "We're sick to death of this. I can't believe someone has tried to rob us again.

"On the bright side I suppose the robbers keep getting away empty-handed, but it's not a nice experience for my staff."

A police spokeswoman said they were investigating the incident.

Updated: 12:25 Saturday, November 17, 2001