A man has been hospitalised after a newsagents was robbed in the early hours of this morning.

Martin’s newsagents, on Beech Road, St Albans, was raided by two men at around 5.40am and a man in his 20s was assaulted.

The robbers escaped with a large quantity of cash and police have released descriptions of the two men as part of their investigation.

One man has been described as black, and both men are said to have been around 6ft tall, of stocky build, wearing black clothing, including gloves and a balaclava.

The assaulted man was taken to Hemel Hempstead hospital with minor injuries.

DC Stuart Bence from the local crime unit said: “Thankfully the member of staff was not more seriously injured but was left understandably shaken. I’d like to identify the people responsible as soon as possible.

“I would urge anyone who remembers seeing anything unusual or suspicious in the area at the stated time to contact me straight away.

“Any information, however seemingly insignificant, could prove very useful to my investigation.”

The police can be contacted on the non-emergency number 101, alternatively people can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.