TWO masked men who threatened officers with a gun are being hunted by police.

Three Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) were threatened with a silver handgun after approaching two men in a County Durham field on Thursday afternoon.

The officers, two men and a woman, were on patrol near the Beamish Park Hotel, near Stanley, at around 3.30pm when they saw two men in a field.

As the officers approached, both men pulled masks down over their faces before one of them produced a weapon and shouted at the officers to get back.

Both men then got into a black car and sped off.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Chapman, who is leading the investigation, said: "We need to trace these men and would appeal to anyone who thinks they saw the vehicle prior to this incident or afterwards to contact us.

"The men were at a fairly remote location in the vicinity of Beamish Burn Road which joins the A6076 that runs between Kip Hill and Sunniside.

"They made off at speed but we believe they may have headed towards Burnopfield. We are keen to trace the car they were travelling in and believe the first part of its registration is ND59.

"At this stage we can only guess at what these men's intentions were.

"Incidents in County Durham and Darlington involving firearms are rare and the people in our communities can be reassured they won't be tolerated and we will do everything in our power to find these men."

Anyone with information is asked to ring Durham Constabulary on 0345-60-60-365 or Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.