A SALESMAN was hit in the face with a mallet and robbed of £10,000 worth of phone cards by two masked attackers.

The two men in balaclavas approached 28-year-old Sajjad Mahmood and his boss 48-year-old Tazarab Hussain.

They had just come out of Walton's Newsagents, Walter Street, Brierfield, where they had been selling mobile phone cards, when the two men came around the corner towards them.

Mr Hussain, from Todmorden, said: "I was parked right outside the door and I had just gone round to get in to the driver's seat when they ran up and hit Sajjad in the face with the mallet.

"It all happened within a matter of seconds. They grabbed the briefcase and ran off towards Halifax Road. Nothing like this has ever happened before.

"We were lucky really that we weren't seriously injured."

Police said the men were going about their daily business selling mobile phone top-up cards to the newsagent.

DS Steve Pemberton, of Nelson CID, said: "The man in his 20s was carrying a briefcase full of the top-up cards. The thieves attacked him with a rubber, plastic-headed mallet and made off in a car with the suitcase. His injuries were not serious, just slight injuries to his nose, but the phone cards stolen were worth a lot of money."

The man holding the mallet was described as 5ft 8ins, in his mid 20s, slim build, wearing a black balaclava, a dark black bomber jacket and black tracksuit trousers.

His accomplice was said to be of a similar build and age, also wearing a balaclava and black trousers.

The two salesmen were delivering the phone cards in various parts of East Lancashire but were both from Todmorden.

Newsagent Noor Mohammed, 45, who has run the shop for 12 years, said he was shocked and worried about the attack.

He said: "They regularly come in to sell the phone cards.

"I think they might have been followed before because it must have been someone who knew what time they came.

"They had been in here about ten minutes and when they left, another customer came in who I started to serve.

"After about ten minutes they came back in again and asked for some tissues because his nose was bleeding.

"I hadn't heard them shout or anything. It was a busy time so someone must have heard or seen something.

"It was scary. What happens if they come in here and demand money from me?"

Michael Taylor, 60, lives nearby and sometimes helps out in the shop. He said: "You don't know what could have happened.

"They might have come in the shop instead, if they hadn't seen them first."

If anyone has information about the incident at around 4.30pm on Tuesday they should contact the police on 01282 425001.