Hastings shop assistant attacked in brutal gunpoint robbery

Police said a man walked into Silverhill supermarket in Sedlescombe Road North just after 8.30pm on Tuesday (January 31). After asking for cigarettes, he produced what appeared to be a handgun and demanded cash from the till.

Four more men then entered the store and one of them hit the 35-year old male shop assistant in the face with an iron bar.

The first man then took what is believed to be several hundred pounds cash from the till and they all left the store, according to officers.

The shop assistant was treated at Conquest Hospital for facial cuts and bruises.

Police say all five suspects are described as black. The first man, who took the cash, is described as in his mid to late twenties, with a full beard, wearing a long green coat with the hood up – officers said.

Police believe to have left in a white van which drove away down Paynton Road.

Detective Constable David Brown said, “We would like to speak to anyone who was in the area and saw these men enter or leave the store. If you can help, or have any other information, please contact us via [email protected] quoting serial 1289 of 31/01.”

You can also report online to https://sussex.police.uk/contact-us/response-to-appeal/ or call 101.

Alternatively contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 (www.crimestoppers-uk.org).