THIS is the moment when a hooded raider burst into a New Forest garage and threatened the elderly cashier.

It's a CCTV picture of the attempted robbery, which took place at the Hucklebrook Garage beside the A338 north of Ringwood.

Night manager Peter Linden-Hall refused to hand over any money and trapped the intruder by locking the electronic door.

The masked man managed to escape by smashing a double-glazed window with his 18-inch torch.

Mr Linden-Hall, 66, of Fordingbridge, was alone at the garage when the would-be thief burst in and placed a Sainsbury's carrier bag on the counter.

"He said 'Fill that up' - but I told him to get lost," said Mr Linden-Hall.

"He then tried to beat me around the head, without success. I hit the electronic door and said 'You're not going anywhere sonny, you're trapped'.

"I dialled 999 and that's when the panic set in. He went straight out the window and legged it towards Fording-bridge."

A police spokesman said the attempted robbery took place at 12 minutes past midnight on Tuesday.

He added: "A man threatened the cashier with a heavy torch and demanded money, but the cashier refused to co-operate and activated a lock on the door.

"The would-be robber broke a window with his torch and escaped through the broken glass."

They got a good description of the thief. He is described as white, aged between 20 and 30 years, about 5ft 10in, slim, with prominent teeth and short, fair hair.

He was wearing an olive green three-quarter-length coat with the hood up and the drawstrings pulled tight to hide his face.

Detectives are keen to hear from anyone who recognises the man, who saw someone matching his description near the petrol station between midnight and 3am on Tuesday.

Ring Det Con Gary Booth on 0845 045 4545.