Two Bridgeport men are behind bars after they tried to rob a Milford motel clerk at gunpoint, police said Thursday.

Tim Meyers, the security guard at the Howard Johnson on Boston Post Road, said he witnessed the holdup from outside the motel at 2:45 a.m. Thursday. According to Meyers, the two men jumped the counter and held up the clerk.During the holdup, Meyers said the two men noticed him outside and gave chase. However, he managed to run to a nearby diner and call police.

Both suspects, Jason Scott and Lee Butler, were later apprehended by Milford police at a nearby condominium complex in the Caswell Cove area of Milford. A .44-caliber handgun was located in the vehicle and seized as evidence.

Milford Police Chief Keith Melo said the department?s quick response and apprehension of the criminals were helped by Meyers, who provided them with a license plate number.