A brave shopkeeper chased a gunman down the street with a bottle of wine after a terrifying attempted robbery.

Mark Stephens, who runs Four Vintners, in Mill Road, Stock, sprung into action after an armed robber pointed a gun in his face and demanded the contents of his till.

The gunman had a red scarf around his face to conceal his identity.

He marched over to the off licence counter at about 6.20pm on Wednesday, and held up the weapon with both hands..

Mr Stephens said: “It was quiet at that point and I was just working on the computer behind the counter. The door just swung open and he strode in.

“He reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a gun and then braced himself Hawaii 5-0 style with both hands on the gun.

“It was a bit of a surprise. It took me a couple of seconds to realise that it could have been a real gun, it looked real.”

The robber said "give me the money" twice, before Mr Stephens told him to leave.

The 53-year-old armed himself with a bottle of wine before chasing the gunman out of the shop.

Mr Stephens added: "I sensed that if I ran towards him he would go away, so I ran towards the end of the counter.

“He started to turn and move towards the door.

“I picked up a bottle of wine nearest to me and chased him out of the shop and shouted at him to stop.”

The empty-handed robber sprinted along the High Street and ran down Swan Lane , where Mr Stephens lost sight of him.

No shots were fired and no-one was injured.

Speaking to the Echo after the incident, Mr Stephens said: "I instantly realised it was potentially serious. I remember thinking at the time that this would hurt if the gun was fired.”

The police helicopter was deployed to carry out an extensive search of the area, but the suspect has not been caught.

He is described as white, 6ft tall and slim with short fair hair.

He wore blue jeans, black shoes, and a shiny gilet with a silver or white trim around the zip and hood.

Temporary Det Sgt Lee Warrington said: "I would like to reassure the public that incidents such are these are thankfully rare and we are determined to catch the man responsible.

"This incident happened in the early evening and there would have been a number of people in the area at the time.

"They would have included drivers who had changed their usual route home due to the closure of the A12 at Howe Green on Wednesday following a lorry fire."

Anyone with information can call Essex Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.