MASKED raiders smashed a pool cue over a man's head then kicked him repeatedly before leaving him lying in a pool of blood.
Martin Green was just starting to close up The Venue bar at Merstham Football Club on Friday night when a pair of hooded men in plastic masks burst through the door.
The duo grabbed Mr Green and knocked him out cold before ripping the till off the counter to get to the money inside.
They then assaulted a female drinker – named locally as Angie Peters – who was also present during the terrifying ordeal.
When Mr Green came round the attackers hit him with a pool cue and continually kicked him in the head as he lay helpless on the floor.
Only Ms Peters stepping in to defend Mr Green stopped the vicious assault, which left the father-of-one in hospital with serious facial injuries and a suspected broken eye socket.
Mr Green, 49, who manages the bar in Weldon Way, told the Mirror: "The door burst in and there were two guys with masks on.
"I jumped off the stool and they grabbed me and threw me to the floor. They must have hit me because I was out cold.
"I came to a little while later then they hit me again, and I remember being hit again and again. I remember falling and just being kicked as I basically just lay there.
"When I came round there were broken bottles everywhere and I was lying in a pool of blood."
He added: "If they had come up to me and said 'give us the till' I might have, but they didn't give me that chance.
"The girl told me once they had got what they wanted they just kept kicking me and beating me up. I think they expected me to be on my own, but if she hadn't been there I would have been left at their mercy."
Mr Green was not supposed to be working on Friday but had agreed to cover a shift for one of the women who works with him.
He was closing up at around 12.35am on Saturday morning after a relatively quiet night when the raiders burst in.
After the assault they made off with hundreds of pounds in cash and some bottles of alcohol.
They also left Ms Peters with serious bruising to her arm.
Mr Green was taken to East Surrey Hospital before being transferred to East Grinstead Hospital where he was checked for a broken eye socket. He wasn't discharged until 3.30pm on Saturday.
But he determinedly returned to work on Monday sporting the scars of his ordeal.
"I still feel dizzy and my head is thumping," he said.
"People said to me you have got to get back and face up to it."
Police say the suspects, who were described as men in their late teens or early 20s, of medium build, wearing dark clothing, headed down an alley towards Albury Road.
One is also said to have spoken with an Eastern European accent.
Merstham residents were shocked at the news.
Carl Smith, 47, who lives nearby, said: "Martin is a lovely fellow. I'm shocked.
"I used to go there a lot and I know the guys who work there; it is not nice to think about something like this happening.
"I couldn't believe it."
Maisie Neil, 80, of Weldon Way, said: "It is a bit frightening.
"We never have much trouble round here, there used to be a few break-ins but not for a while. It is terrible."
Witnesses are asked to call police on 101 quoting reference RB/13/6101 with information.
