AN employee at the Premier Inn, next to the destroyed Sony warehouse in Enfield, was punched by looters.

A source from the hotel, who did not wish to be named, said the staff member was walking home when he bumped into a gang of around 20 teenagers.

The masked youths were looting the three-storey, 20,000 square metre warehouse, a depot for CDs and DVDs, in Solar Way.

At around 12am the employee is said to have literally bumped into the gang as they fled from the warehouse, which they had just set fire to.

The employee did not confront the group, but nevertheless was “clouted for being in the wrong place at the wrong time”, said the source.

The Premier Inn hotel will be closed tonight due to its proximity to the smouldering warehouse, where firefighters are still dampening down.

Customers are advised to make alternative arrangements.