A SUCCESSFUL city broker who was shot by a hitman at Shenfield station thought he was going to die.

Robin Clark, 44, told The Sun that he "said a quick prayer" because he thought it "was going to be the end".

Clark - known to his friends as Clarky - was shot in the thigh as he and a friend arrived at Shenfield station at 5.45am on Friday.

Describing the moment a man approached and fired a shot at him with a sawn-off shot gun, Clark said: "As he got nearer I tried to focus to see if it was someone I knew or if they were coming up to me to say 'hello Clarky'. 

"They came straight at me but no words were said. There was no 'have that' - nothing at all."

Clark's friend, who owned the Ford S-Max that the pair had travelled to the station in, then called 999.

The father-of-four, who works for city firm RP Martin, was rushed to Basildon hospital. He told the national newspaper that he has had an operation on the wound and will have another one today.

Police are still looking for the gunman, who was said to be wearing a balaclava at the time.

Clark, described by friends as a "very successful broker" and "a bit of a party animal" said he doesn't know why anyone would want to shoot him. He told reporters: "I have had relationships in the last 12 months - but I don't think that could have anything to do with this.

"I have come up with a myriad of different people who might want to hurt me but none to this extent."

Clark was due to be interviewed by detectives either today or tomorrow. He is currently being guarded in hospital by armed police.