A man who disturbed burglars at his home was attacked with a hammer.

The man discovered the intruders in his house in Boundary Road, Portslade, as he returned home just after 10pm yesterday.

When he confronted them they hit him on the head with a hammer, leaving him bleeding badly. He ran to a local shop for help.

While he was doing this the men made off in his white Transit van which was found by police about half-hour later in Symbister Road. A police dog picked up a track from the van to the rear of the nearby Tesco store, but the men were not located.

It is believed there were four or five offenders who are described as black, dressed in black and all with some form of face covering, including one wearing a woolly black hat pulled down over his face with eye holes cut as a makeshift balaclava. The victim described the first of the men to confront him as black, aged 20 to 25, with short dark hair.

His hood was up and a plain black scarf was covering his mouth and nose.

Along with the keys to his van, the men escaped with a Rolex watch, an iPad2, an iPod 4S and three bank cards. The victim was treated at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton for injuries to his face, head and thigh. None are thought to be serious.

Detective Sergeant Nick Chambers said: “This was an alarming attack and it is fortunate that the injuries inflicted were not more serious. “We are investigating whether this man and his house were specifically targeted and would like to hear from anyone who saw the suspects in the area in the time leading up to the attack or who saw them leaving the van when they abandoned it in Symbister Road. “This would have been at some time between 10.23pm and 10.54pm.

"If you have any information, please call Sussex Police on 101.