A REWARD of up to £3,000 has been offered for information following the brutal assault of a man guarding clothing at a Purfleet industrial estate.

Adam Nichols, 52, was attacked by gang of four masked men ambushed on Ensign Industrial Estate, in Botany Way. He was tasered and beaten before being stripped of his clothes and threats made to his life.

He suffered injuries that included a broken foot, a damaged eye socket, and shattered ribs following the incident around 7pm on Wednesday, January 28.

He escaped only by crawling underneath a van and later managed to raise the alarm with his eyes, nose and mouth still taped.

Mr Nichols was guarding a van of high value clothing worth £200,000. The men left the scene empty handed.

Recalling the attack, Mr Nichols told BBC One's Crimewatch: "I remember my whole body, people just kicking me.

"I remember going, 'I have children, please do not kill me, please do not kill me'.

"I was swallowing blood and then they lifted me up and then that's when they started taping my face up. They went right across my mouth and I was struggling to breathe.

"They would have killed me. They would kill someone."

Crimestoppers is now offering a reward of up to £3,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction of the people responsible for this attack.

Antonia Litten, Eastern Regional Manager for Crimestoppers, said: “I cannot even begin to imagine what this man has gone through during this horrifying attack.

“These four men have carried out a cowardly act to fulfill their greed, and they should not be allowed to get away with their actions.

I’d urge anyone who has information to come forward and contact Crimestoppers anonymously, safe in the knowledge that no one will ever know you contacted us.”

If you have any information please contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through our Anonymous Online Form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org

Note: the full reward will only qualify if information is passed to Crimestoppers’ 0800 555 111 number or anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. Information passed directly to police will not qualify for the full amount.