A TAKEAWAY delivery driver was robbed of kebabs and chips by a gang of hoodies armed with a pole and a knife.

The petrified driver, 28, was dropping off food to a home in Swanstead, Vange, when he was approached by three teenagers.

One of them was gripping a pole, which had a nail sticking out of it, and another had a four-inch blade.

One of the gang stepped forward and menacingly asked the driver "what you got for us?".

When the driver said he only had food they threatened to hurt him, so the driver handed over the kebabs and chips, as well as £40.

The robbers then warned the victim, who works for Delight Kebabs in High Road, Pitsea, not to get into his car until they had gone.

Sha Lofti, a colleague at Delight Kebabs, said: "The driver came back to work after it happened and he was very badly shaken, but thankfully he wasn't injured.

He is now having some time off to recover and will hopefully come back to work at the end of the week."

Meanwhile, police are hunting the gang.

Bill Stock, of Basildon police, said: "Robbery is a serious crime and carries a hefty custodial sentence.

"These thugs have risked their liberty and subjected this man to a frightening attack, all for kebabs and chips.

"Two of the gang were armed with weapons, one of them a particularly nasty one that could, if used, cause someone serious injuries.

"If anyone saw these youths hanging around the area, or knows who they are, I would ask them to contact police urgently."

The youth armed with the pole was white, skinny, 5ft 5ins tall, aged between 16 and 18, and wore a grey hoodie with black stripes on the head.

The knifeman was white, 6ft tall and wore a black hoodie.

Police currently have no description of the third thug.

Witnesses to the incident, which happened at 11.45pm on Sunday, can contact police at Basildon on 0300 3334444.