A masked gunman was chased off a garage forecourt by a worker armed only with a stick.

Fearless Kalirajah Thulasitharan, 48, had a gun pointed in his face and was ordered to hand over the keys to the BP garage after locking up for the night.

But rather than doing as he was told, Mr Thulasitharan ran away - and then came back with a stick to confront his assailant.

With no thought for his own safety, the forecourt manager was able to land a blow on the robber's shoulder as he made his escape.

Brave Mr Thulasitharan, who was back at work just hours later, said: "Nothing like this has happened to me before. I was left totally scared and I couldn't sleep last night but I'm fine today."

Sri Lankan-born Mr Thulasitharan had locked up the garage in Willingdon Road, Eastbourne, and was heading to his people carrier at the end of his shift when he was attacked on Thursday night at 10.10pm.

Before he was able to start his engine, the robber pulled open the door and jumped into his rear passenger seat, shouting: "Give me your ****ing keys and where's the money?"

Married father-of-three Mr Thulasitharan said: "I thought someone was playing a joke on me at first to try to scare me.

"Then the man placed a gun up towards my face and I realised he was serious. That's when I totally panicked. I didn't know what to do.

"I told him, Okay, okay - I'll give you the keys'.

"But then I opened my van door, jumped out and he chased after me.

"As I ran away the security light on the side of the garage came on but he refused to stand in the light and stood further away in the dark so he could not be seen properly.

"I picked up a stick from the bushes and said, Come on then, shoot me if that's what you want - shoot me'.

"I was just panicking. Then I chased after him with the stick and hit him on the back of his shoulder as he ran off.

"I chased him across the forecourt and into the road. The robber said, I'll shoot you' but he didn't and he didn't manage to get away with anything either."

The offender eventually ran off and a shaken Mr Thulasitharan dialled 999 on his mobile. Police conducted fingerprint searches and sent a dog unit to the scene.

The garage is covered by CCTV cameras and footage has been seized by officers following the raid. Less than 24 hours earlier the duty manager at the nearby Tesco Express store in Eastbourne Road, Polegate, had been held up.

The Argus reported yesterday how three hooded and masked men ambushed the woman in the car park after she locked up the store.

They snatched the keys from her and tied her up in her car during a 20-minute ordeal just after midnight on Thursday.

Police said the men entered the store armed with a firearm but fled empty-handed when they triggered the alarms.

The offenders drove the woman's car with her still inside to a nearby road before abandoning it.

The terrified woman managed to break free from her restraints and raised the alarm.

Detectives said they are exploring whether the two robberies and a third raid, which took place at a Total Garage on February 7, are linked.

Officers said the BP raider was 5ft 8in and wore grey clothing. They want information about a young man who bought sweets from the garage at about 9.10pm that night.

Police appealed for anyone with information to call them on 0845 6070999 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.