The police are investigating two armed robberies which took place in the space of an hour in Iklin and Balzan.

The first robbery took place at around 2.15pm in Geronimo Abos Street, Iklin, when two armed men stormed into a shop and demanded cash. They grabbed the cash register and fled. The shop assistant, although suffering from shock, was not injured.

At around 3pm, two armed men entered a shop in High Street, Balzan and again demanded cash. One of the robbers grabbed the cash register but when he noticed that it contained no money, he let go of it and both robbers fled empty handed.

Duty magistrate Anthony Vella appointed several court experts to help the inquiry.

It is not known if both robberies are connected.