AN urgent plea for information has been issued after thugs wielding hammers and a machete carried out what has been described as an horrific robbery.

Essex Police are appealing for witnesses and information after the attack in Cannon Street, Colchester, on Sunday.

A man, aged in his 20s, suffered rib injuries and had a three-figure sum of cash stolen.

A police spokesman said: “The victim did not require hospital treatment and we believe the attackers left the scene towards Hythe Hill.”

The robbery took place between 10.05pm and 10.10pm and was carried out by two men.

Both attackers were holding hammers, while one was also armed with a machete.

One of the suspects is white and was wearing a black hooded top, with the Crosshatch logo on the back, and a balaclava.

The other man is also white but police have no further description of him.

Lee Scordis, Essex county councillor for the New Town ward, added his voice to calls for information on the attack.

He said: “If anyone has seen anything suspicious, please contact the police and provide the crime reference number.

“This is a nice community and this is unusual and out of the ordinary, we wouldn’t expect to see people with weapons carrying out this kind of horrific attack.

“Usually with such a serious incident you might see something online about it, but there has been little information about this incident.

“It is scary and I would urge people to come forward if they can help the police with their inquiries.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information should submit a report online at essex.police.uk or use the Live Chat button to speak to an online operator between 7am and 11pm.

Witnesses can also call 101 and cite incident 1311 of March 21.

Information can be given to charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or crimestoppers-uk.org.