MASKED thugs poured petrol over a security guard and threatened to set him alight as he picked up money bags from a Merseyside cash and carry.

The guard pulled up at Makro, in Hornhouse Lane, on the Knowsley Industrial Estate, at around 9.45am on Monday.

As he left the store clutching a security bag, he was surrounded by three men wearing ski masks.

One held a Stanley knife to his throat while another doused his chest with petrol and threatened to light it unless he handed over the haul.

The gang grabbed the bag and fled in a stolen, blacked-out, top-of-the-range, Range Rover.

It was found torched in nearby Spinney Road. The gang is thought to have fled in a waiting getaway car.

Head of the police cash-in-transit robbery team Det Supt Martin Andrew said: “These offenders have left a guard absolutely terrified. He was threatened with a knife and with an accelerant and is deeply traumatised.”

The victim worked for G4S which today offered an immediate £5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and charge of those responsible.

Anyone with information should ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.