Masked thugs armed with hammers and baseball bats savagely beat workers at a city centre coffee shop in an horrific attack.

One member of staff was left with a broken arm and a broken hand, and the Birmingham business owner has said he was lucky not to have been even more seriously injured.

The terrifying raid happened at Coffee Kup in the heart of the city, the Birmingham Mail reports.

CCTV footage shows the balaclava-wearing attackers lashing out at workers as they hit behind the counter.

Women and children are seen fleeing as the armed men rushed into the cafe at around 6pm yesterday.

Two staff members were on duty, and both can be seen trying to fend the attackers off.

The masked attackers burst into the Coffee Kup in Birmingham yesterday
Two staff members were beaten as they tried to escape behind the counter

A friend of one of the staff members also tries to help them against the four violent thugs.

Lakh Dhillon, co-owner of the Coffee Kup, told the Mail the attackers used baseball bats, a hammer and a screwdriver.

He said: “My security guard was left with a broken hand and broken arm. If his friend hadn’t helped him it could have been a lot worse. There was also a lot of blood and I think a screwdriver was used.”

Lakh, 40, also said that a member of staff saw a black BMW pull-up outside the shop and raised the alarm after seeing the four armed attackers exit the vehicle.

The terrifying attack saw one worker suffer a broken arm and broken hand
Staff members were seen trying to fight the attackers off

The businessman, from Oldbury, said: “One of the staff saw the car pull-up and knew straight away what was going to happen.

"They got out of the car and were armed with balaclavas and hoods. He didn’t have time to do anything really but a female staff member managed to escape into the back.

“The police had recommended I get security guards. We’ve had three or four but this is what it comes to.

"I don’t think anything was stolen but the police have confirmed it was an attempted robbery. It just looked like a really violent assault. There was a lot of damage.”

Lakh isn’t sure exactly how much damage the attackers caused - but it was clearly extensive with displays, tables and chairs destroyed in the shocking assault.

The stunned business owner said his stores have been targeted previously
CCTV footage shows the terrifying raid on the cafe

Brothers Bal and Lakh Dhillon run a number of businesses in the city centre - including two Subway stores that were recently hit by a crime wave.

He previously told the Mail: “The increasing crime rate and the increase in the number of thefts and incidents around the city centre is really frustrating.

“Together with my brother, I run a few businesses in the centre and we pay our business rates for police protection but we just feel really let down.”

West Midlands Police confirmed it received 999 calls following what they have described as an attempted robbery. They are currently investigating and enquiries are on-going.

They have urged anyone with information to call them on 101 and quote log 2112 of 18/10/2017.