Community pushing for police presence in Yarram following armed burglary where three staff members were held at gunpoint at bakery

A business owner is pushing for more police presence in a small Gippsland town after staff members were tied up and held at gunpoint in a traumatising armed robbery at her bakery.

A business owner is pushing for more police presence in Yarram after three staff members were tied up and held at gunpoint in an robbery at her bakery.

Bakery workers and a cleaner have been left traumatised after they were tied up and held at gunpoint so a man and a woman could nick two pies from a store in Gippsland.

A man and a woman, both with guns, broke into Yarram Plaza Hot Bread on James St after trying to get cash from an ATM in the local shopping centre between 3.50am and 4.15am on Friday, July 12.

“After their unsuccessful attempts at breaking into the ATM, the man and woman forced open a cash register at a business inside the complex, however there was no money inside,” a police spokesman said.

The pair held two bakers and a shopping centre cleaner hostage on the floor of the premises.

One of the bakers contacted police through the SOS alert function on their smartwatch but police had to drive 72km from Sale to help.

The offenders attempted to break into an ATM machine in the Yarram Plaza Shopping Centre but were unsuccessful. Picture: Jack Colantuono

The Yarram station is not manned 24 hours.

The offenders fled the scene leaving all three hostages tied up.

Bakery owner Kathryn Ireland received the unsettling call early that morning her employees were in peril.

Despite the terrifying ordeal, only two pies were stolen in the raid.

Ms Ireland said the incident had scarred the staff for life and she didn’t understand how anyone could do such a thing.

She thanked the community for their messages and calls, and is advocating for additional police presence throughout town.

During the police investigation, the centre was closed and after a big clean-up, the bakery reopened at 11.30am.

Ms Ireland thanked the community for their ongoing support. Picture: Jack Colantuono

Detectives continue to investigate the armed robbery at the Yarram Plaza Hot Bread bakery. Picture: Jack Colantuono

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“It’s pretty horrible — mainly for those who got tied up and involved in it but also for the owners — it’s hard enough (for small businesses) without adding things like that happening,” Yarram coffee palace owner Paige Eaton said.

Like every morning, Ms Eaton bought bread from the bakery for her cafe but then received a phone call informing her there were 35 loaves left over.

“I couldn’t take that many but then another lady came up from behind, overheard the conversation and said she would go halves with me,” she said.

“And then we just decided to hand them out to the local community the next morning instead of stocking it.”

Yarram coffee palace owner Paige Eaton showed her support to Yarram Plaza Hot Bread by buying the remaining stock of bread for the day with the help of another local. Picture: Jack Colantuono

Superintendent Mark Edwards said there had been two robberies recorded in Yarram in the past ten years and Victoria police strategically allocates resources to communities based on a range of factors including calls for assistance and recorded crime.

“The prevalence of crimes against the person are thankfully very low in Yarram, with less than 70 in the past year,” Supt Edwards said.

“Despite this low level of offending, we recognise how distressing this incident has been for the victims involved and the community.”

“As such, we have increased our police presence in the area to provide reassurance and support to the community.

“While the reception counter at Yarram may not be open 24 hours, it is important to remember police in Yarram are available to respond to incidents 24 hours a day.”

Investigations remain ongoing by Wellington crime detectives.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, has dashcam, CCTV footage or more information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers Victoria on 1800 333 000, submit a confidential report online, contact the Yarram police station on [phone] or the Sale police station on [phone].