A shop assistant was slapped around the face when three men robbed a Mid Sussex village post office.

The gang entered the shop in Whitemans Green, Cuckfield, at 2.30pm yesterday and made for the post office counter.

They terrified the two women cashiers, hitting one in the face, and escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Detective Constable Clinton Novelle said: "This was similar in execution to a 'steaming' robbery where no weapon is used and minimum violence.

"The suspects basically rely on their sheer physical presence to intimidate the victim and get money from them.

"It is an old technique but more common on trains, particularly in London.

Appealing for witnesses, he added: "Because of the location of the post office we are assuming some getaway vehicle was used."

The men, of black or Asian appearance and in their early 20s, were seen in the Whitemans Green and Brook Street area of Cuckfield just before and after the raid.