A young member of staff at The White Hart Hotel was attacked during a late-night robbery in which thousands of pounds in cash was stolen.

Police were contacted just after midnight today by a staff member who reported that two men hadcome into the premises, assaulted him and stolen money from a safe.

The two men got in via a side entrance, punched the young man in the face and sprayed him with a substance, believed to be CS gas or similar, before forcing him to open the safe.

The men then made off with a red cash box containing money believed to total several thousand pounds.

The victim was taken to Addenbrookes Hospital for treatment for facial injuries.

Both of the offenders were wearing dark clothing, including jackets with the hoods up, and had their faces partially covered.

The first is described as around 5ft 10ins – 5ft 11ins tall, of slim to medium build, and was wearing dark shoes, dark trousers and a long-sleeved dark jacket with a white emblem on the left side chest-area. The second man was of similar height and build and wore black shoes, lighter coloured jeans and a long sleeve black jacket.

It is thought there were a number of people in the area around this time and police are keen to speak to anyone who may have been in the vicinity around midnight, regardless of whether you think you saw anything that may help.

Anyone with information about the incident or the offenders is asked to call 101 and quote crime number NE/15/1098. Alternatively you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.