Police are appealing for information after a shop assistant was pistol-whipped in a brutal four man robbery at a Crayford convenience store.

The 24-year-old Costcutter employee was hit with a black handgun by one of the masked thugs who made off with cash, cigarettes and alcohol worth £5,000 from the store in Old Road.

The gang fled in the direction of London Road following the incident at around 9.25pm on March 5.

The part time employee, who did not want to be named, said he was on his knees stacking some shelves by the door when the first man burst in.

He told News Shopper: “First I thought it was a joke.

“Then I was hit three or four times with the gun and punched about 15 times in the head.

“One of them shut the door, two grabbed the cigarettes and the other one held me in the corner by the ice cream freezer.

“He said he would shoot me if I turned around. It was all over in about four minutes.

“I didn’t do anything because there was no point in fighting them as they had a gun.

“I am angry at them and when they police catch them they should shoot them because they will just do it again – it’s like a chain."

The victim was left badly bruised and bleeding from his head after his attackers fled.

Anwar Ali, 44, who lives nearby in Old Road, told News Shopper: “It is scary.

“With them having weapons I don’t know what I would have done myself in that situation."

The father-of-two added: “They don’t really value other people’s lives, people like that.”

The suspects were all wearing dark clothing, hooded jackets and had their faces concealed.

Detective Sergeant Scott Chimes of the Met Flying Squad, said: "I am appealing to local people in particular who may have been in the area at the time of the robbery and may have witnessed the incident, or seen the suspects running toward London Road, to contact the police".

Anyone with information should call the incident room on 0208 3454226 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.