TWO men armed with a meat cleaver and a kitchen knife stole £1,000 and a Rolex watch in a daylight raid on a Loughton antiques shop yesterday.

Guy Tomkins, who is the owner of AD Antiques in Church Hill, was tied up by the men during the terrifying robbery at around 3.30pm on Monday (November 30).

The 42-year-old, who has been manager of the shop for the past three years, said: "It was very scary.

"I was in my shop when they burst in through the front door. To be honest at first I thought it was a joke.

"There were two of them and they both had hoodies and scarves covering their faces - all I could see was their eyes.

"They had these weapons and were waving them around screaming at me and then they pushed me onto the floor."

"I kept telling them to calm down - I thought it was better to come home missing some money and my watch rather than in a body bag."

The thugs snatched Mr Tomkins's watch, then forced him to the rear of the shop and demanded he open his safe.

After snatching cash and jewellery they bound his arms and legs with plastic strips.

"They kept shouting we're going to kill you and things like that. I was just thinking I wanted to get out of there and back to my wife and two kids."

The men then left the shop, leaving Mr Tomkins tied up in a back room.

He managed to wriggle his feet free before alerting a nearby shop where staff called the police.

Mr Tomkins believes the men may be from the local area.

He said: "They seemed to know a bit too much about the shop. You wouldn't normally carry out an armed robbery on an antique shop - how did they know what I had?

"They seemed to be local as well by the sound of their voices."

Both men are described as white, and aged between 20 and 35.

Anyone with information is urged to contact DC Ian Forsith at Epping CID on 0300 333 4444 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

No arrests have been made.

The serial number on the stainless steel Rolex is F42-8513, model number 16622.