TWO raiders brandishing knives forced their way into a newsagents before tying up to two workers in a dawn raid.

The balaclava-clad assailants struck at about 5am on Sunday, approaching a shop worker as he opened the shutters at the back of The Paper Shop in The Broadway, Bexleyheath.

One of the robbers threatened the shop worker with a knife and forced his way into the newsagents.

Another worker heard the commotion and went to see what was happening and was confronted by a second masked man.

The pair were tied up and put into a store room while the robbers filled laundry bags with £2,000 worth of cash and cigarettes.

The men are described as white, aged between 30 and 40. One was five foot five inches, of stocky build and was wearing light blue jeans, a black lightweight jacket and a full-face black balaclava.

The second man is about 5ft 7in tall, of slimmer build and wearing darker jeans, a black lightweight jacket and beige shoes with a black stripe up the heel.

Police are appealing for witnesses. A spokesman for Bexley Police said: “It may sound as if the streets would be empty at 5am, but we know the Rat and Parrot pub nearby operates a coach service to a nightclub and returns back to the Broadway at 5am.

“We are appealing to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious to contact us. The suspects may have left wearing the balaclavas, or they may have been seen with the laundry bags.”

Anyone with any information on the incident is asked to call Det Sgt Barry Berk at Bexley CID on 020 8284 9240.