A van was hijacked today when the driver was struck in the face as he approached a Belfast roundabout.
The 45-year-old victim was ordered to drive his Snap-On tools van to an industrial estate where he was bundled into another vehicle and held for 90 minutes before being released.
Police said the culprits escaped with the van and a substantial amount of tools.
The driver was sitting in heavy traffic in Stockman's Lane, approaching the roundabout to the M1 motorway, when he was targeted shortly after 3.30pm.
A man then opened the front passenger door and struck the driver on the side of the head before ordering him to drive on to Kennedy Way in West Belfast and then into an industrial estate.
He was ordered to stop the car before a second man appeared and dragged him out of the vehicle.
The victim was bundled into the back of a car and had his head covered, while a man held him down.
His ordeal only ended after he was driven to the Ivy Hill Road-Moneyglass junction in the Derriaghy/Milltown area of Lisburn.
The driver was ordered to walk for 10 minutes but managed to flag down a passing motorist.
A police spokesman said: "The man had a cut and swelling to the left side of his head, above the eye, and was severely shocked as a result of the ordeal."
The stolen van was a white Mercedes with the Snap-On logo on the side and rear of the vehicle. As well as the tools, a laptop computer and a number of personal items were stolen.