POLICE have appealed for witnesses after a businessman was lured to an ambush and robbed of £15,000 cash at gunpoint outside Theydon Bois Tube station.

Stephen Ward, 55, agreed to meet after setting up a deal on internet-auction website eBay to buy a Land Rover.

But when he arrived to meet the seller, two men in dark hooded tops emerged and threatened to shoot him if he did not hand over the cash, a laptop and his mobile phone.

Mr Ward said: "A guy came up to me, pulled out a great big pistol and said: 'Where's the money, give me the money!' I felt the blood drain from my face.

"Another guy came from behind. I just froze and said: 'OK, whatever you want'. It was completely surreal. I feared for my life."

Mr Ward, an advertising director from west London, who has used eBay before to buy vintage guitars, said the attack had initially left him a tearful "wreck".

He said he had been duped my a man who had been very knowledgeable about the vehicle, and who had allayed his suspicions by being friendly and chatting about family and work.

A spokesman for Essex Police said detectives are working with eBay to investigate the case, and are currently combing through CCTV footage of the scene.

He urged people to be cautious of attending rendezvous to complete transactions set up on the internet, an added: "If you are going to go then it would be prudent not to carry large amounts of cash, and to take at least another person with you."

One of the men is believed to be called Warren, is black, about 5ft 9in tall, medium build, with a long face and smooth complexion. He was softly spoken and thought to be aged in his late 20s. He wore a black top, black jogging bottoms, and a black woolly hat.

The second man was black, about 6ft 1in tall, and also wore a hooded top.

Anyone with information should call detectives at Loughton on 0300 333 4444.