A brave cashier wrestled a pistol from a masked gunman who tried to rob a convenience store for just £25.

The gunman, who wore a distinctive red mask with white markings, entered the Motorstar Express shop, in Luncies Road, Basildon, along with two accomplices at about 8.30am on Sunday.

The first two men wandered round the shop and brought a bottle of Coke to the counter before the masked man entered and strode over to the till, brandishing the weapon.

He pointed the pistol towards the cashier and shouted “give me the money”.

Sgt Angie Torrance, from Basildon police, said: “The cashier said he didn’t believe the gun was real as ‘it didn’t look right’.

“He grabbed hold of the gun by the barrel and pulled it from the man, who then pulled it back and ran out of the store with the other two men.”

Thiruchelvan Thiru, who works at the store, commended his colleague’s bravery.

He said: “Three guys came in and one of them had a gun. They demanded money but the gentleman behind the counter was not willing to give them any money.

“He wasn’t panicking that much, he was very brave to grab the gun. He tried to chase them out too.

“It was over in about three or four minutes.

“It is awful but that is the world that we are living in unfortunately.

“Sometimes you have got to stand up to these robbers or they think they will have an easy ride.

“We do have a panic button underneath the counter but sometimes there is never the time.”

He added that even if they had managed to grab cash from the till, there was very little money inside.

Mr Thiru said: “I am glad they didn’t get any cash but there would have only been £25 in there because it was 8.30am on a Sunday.

“It’s bizarre that they came in then.”

One of the men was described as slim, white with short black hair. He was aged between 18 and 20, wore black trousers and a dark T-shirt.

The second man was mixed race, about 6ft 1ins tall, of slim build and wore a white shirt with a hood attached.

No arrests have been made and nobody was injured in the robbery.

Anyone with information can call Essex Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.