About 2am on Monday (8 March) two men armed with knives and metal poles allegedly entered the hotel in Appin Road, Appin, while a third man waited in a vehicle.

The pair allegedly forced entry, put some cash into a bag and attempted to push a woman and the hotel licensee into a freezer. The licensee resisted and an altercation ensued before he was allegedly stabbed. The two men also received significant injuries during the fight.

The men left without the bag of cash and the third man allegedly drove the vehicle into the front door of the hotel.

Police attended and stopped the vehicle a short distance away. The driver, a 37-year-old Moorebank man, and one of the men, a 20-year-old from Auburn, were arrested at the scene. The third man escaped on foot through a nearby paddock.

The licensee and woman were taken to Liverpool Hospital. The 41-year-old local licensee sustained stab wounds and cuts to his arms, head and face. The woman sustained a facial injury.

The 20-year-old and the 37-year-old were both charged with robbery in company with wounding and appeared at Campbelltown Local Court on Monday (8 March). The Auburn man re-appeared in court yesterday and the Moorebank man is due to re-appear on 17 March 2010.

Later that day a 33-year-old man was arrested at Picton. He had sustained head injuries and remained under police guard in hospital before being released yesterday (Wednesday 10 March) and taken to Campbelltown Police Station.

He was charged with robbery with wounding causing grievous bodily harm, detain in company with intent to obtain advantage, and break, enter and steal.

The man was refused bail and is due to appear at Campbelltown Local Court today.