A security guard was today recovering in Basildon Hospital after he was shot by hooded men in a lunchtime supermarket robbery.
The guard was hit in the leg as the raiders snatched "a substantial amount of cash" after jumping from the store roof.
The robbers are believed to have hidden inside the Safeway store in Chafford Hundred, near Grays.
Raid scene - police tape cordons off the Securitas van and part of the store front where the armed men struck, shooting and wounding a guard before grabbing the cash Picture: DAVE HENDERSON
Three staff from Securitas were at the Burghley Road store, restocking the cash machines, when two hooded men leaped from the roof, one brandishing a handgun.
A spokeswoman for Essex Police said: "Two men in balaclavas had been concealed in the building and came through the roof."
The security staff - two men from south Essex aged 31 and 33, and a 21-year-old woman from Kent - were threatened. The 31-year-old was shot in the leg.
His injuries are not thought to be life threatening.
The two robbers escaped with the cash in a dark blue Ford Mondeo.
Anybody with information or who witnessed the attack is asked to contact CID officers at Grays on 01375 391212.
Published Wednesday August 21, 2002
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