The staff at the Sandmartin pub on Clifford Road, Chafford Hundred, put their bodies in the way of danger as two men put the bar under siege on Saturday night.

A minor disturbance in the pub’s toilets quickly erupted into chaos as the pair of attackers started to hurl glasses at innocent families.

Young children screamed in fear and families had to pass them out of windows to safety, as staff tried to quell the situation.

A young woman, who wished not to be named, described the scenes in the pub as “absolutely awful” and “very scary”.

No less than seven police cars arrived at the scene to deal with the violent scenes but no arrests were made.

The incident had erupted from a small disturbance in the men’s toilets just before 9pm but it was swiftly dealt with, as those responsible were forced out of the pub.

The disturbance however, dramatically escalated just moments later as the group of attackers attempted to storm the bar by charging through the front door.

In an attempt to prevent the group’s re-entry, the bar’s manager stood guard at the front door, using his own body to hold the door closed.

The attackers were too strong and too many however, as they forced their way through and back into the pub.

One then violently assaulted another worker as the other members of the bar staff bravely tried to calm the attackers down.

The thugs then began to throw empty glasses towards innocent families as they huddled to shield each other from the onslaught of missiles.

The main perpetrators are understood to have then fled the scene, just moments before the police arrived.

A spokesperson for the Sandmartin said: “An incident occurred last night in which four individuals, none of whom are regular customers of the pub, caused a disturbance following a disagreement.”

“Management at the pub dealt with the situation swiftly, causing minimum disruption to our guests at the pub.

“It is rare that incidences occur but the priority for the pub management is always the safety of customers and staff.”

Essex Police have asked anyone with information to contact Grays police station on 101 quoting crime reference 42/54516/18 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.