HOODED raiders burst into an Eastleigh video shop and attacked a lone male assistant before making off with the till.

The robbery happened at the Video Plus store in Shakespeare Road, Boyatt Wood, when three young males with hoods and scarves wrapped around their faces struck.

One vaulted the counter and started to punch the 21-year-old assistant while demanding to know where the till was. But in the meantime his accomplices found the cash register and made for the door.

Today Eastleigh detectives hunting the gang appealed for help from the public in a bid to track them down.

The brave shop assistant, who asked not to be named, told the Daily Echo: "The shop was empty when these three came in with their faces covered by scarves.

"One jumped on the counter and kicked everything off and started hitting me in the face as he landed on the other side.

"I didn't know what was going on. We are always getting people wandering in and out and kids coming in causing trouble. I didn't really worry about it until I was being punched.

"After he hit me about four or five times I said 'all right, all right' and he said 'where's the till?' I pointed to where it should have been but it wasn't actually there."

The assistant then became aware of two other raiders standing by the door urging the attacker to leave.

"The whole thing was so unreal. You don't have time to get worried about it. It isn't until afterwards that you start shaking," said the shop assistant who added that he believed the raiders were young and had been nervous about the robbery.

But he admitted he had been " a bit dazed" after the incident and had paced around for a few seconds before locking the door and hitting the panic alarm.

DC Sarah Dring said the shop assistant had suffered only minor injuries but added: "He was very shaken."

Now detectives want to hear from anyone who saw three suspicious males aged between 16 and 25 and dressed in dark

clothing in the vicinity of the shop at about 9pm on Sunday.

They are also keen to hear from witnesses who saw three males with a till or any vehicle which was driving at speed away from the area, particularly if anything was discarded out of the vehicle's window.

Detectives would also like to speak to any males in the nearby Co-Op store around 8.30pm to eliminate them from police inquiries

Anyone who can help is asked to contact DC Dring at Eastleigh CID on 0845 045 4545.