A man entered Russell Lane Antiques in High Street at around 4.30pm, when one member of staff was working.

On his way out of the store he pulled out what appeared to be a gun asked the employee to open the external door.

Three more men then entered the shop and forced the assistant to lie on the floor while his hands were bound. The intruders helped themselves to cash, gold and other items from the cabinets.

As they attempted to leave the store the men, who were all described as black or mixed race and wore mainly black clothing, became trapped in the shop's two-door security system and had to kick down the external door to get out.

One of the men is said to have been wearing an open-faced balaclava and another was carrying a red sports bag.

After they left the shop the culprits are believed to have split up, with two of them running towards Warwick Castle while the others made their way along High Street, turning left towards the castle where a getaway vehicle was parked.

The shop assistant was left lying on the floor. He was shocked by the incident and suffered superficial injuries to his face and wrists. He was treated at the scene by ambulance staff.

No customers were in the store at the time.

Police were called to the scene shortly before 4.40pm and began searching the area for the men using a dog handler and the police helicopter.

Det Sgt Iain Shearer said: "We are very pleased with the response from the public around the time of the incident and a number of pedestrians and motorists have already come forward with useful information.

"We would like to thank everyone for their patience while we dealt with the incident, but we still would like to speak to anyone else who saw anything that might be connected to the robbery."

This is the second time the store has been targeted by robbers in six months.

Last August a masked raider smashed through the front window with an axe and stole designer watches worth more than £15,000 during a daylight raid. Two members of staff were present during this robbery but neither of them were injured.

Police say the new investigation is still in the early stages. Anyone with information should call Det Sgt Shearer on 415000 ext 41755.