A NIGHTCLUB owner told how he feared he could have been viciously attacked after a gang of suspected armed thugs broke into his venue.

In the early hours of Thursday at least three men are believed to have forced their way into Pulse, in Clacton.

In CCTV footage, captured at the Marine Parade East establishment, one of the group is seen holding what appears to be a weapon, which the club owner thinks may have been a machete.

Rob Asbo, 42, who is the owner of the seafront club, posted the images online and they have so far been shared more than 200 times on Facebook. He told how he was in the venue at the time and became aware after his dog started barking.

He said: “We looked out the window and saw them on the fence, so we shouted out and they then ran off.

“I noticed they had broken into a back door which we never use.

“After the police arrived we found they had ripped off the door in the club and the officers found tools which they had dropped.

“They could have been after cash, tools, our dogs or drinks, but no one will ever find out if I’m honest unless we find them.”

Although the crooks made off with nothing, Rob, who has owned the venue for three years, believes he may have been seriously injured if he had found and confronted the group.

He added: “I fully understand we are in hard times and people in desperate need will do stupid things, but why did one of them carry such a big blade?

“I wouldn’t like to think what the outcome would have been if we had come face-toface with them, but it’s the world we live in nowadays it seems.

“It just shows Clacton is only a few years behind London and I fear it will soon be as bad.”

Essex Police are continuing to investigate the reported break-in.

A spokesman said: “We received a report a group of people had broken into the Pulse nightclub.

“Damage was caused to the rear entrance, but it is not believed anything was taken before the group left.

“Our enquiries are ongoing.”

Anyone with information should call 101 and quote incident number 42/56931/21.”