Police have issued CCTV of the the terrifying moment six robbers sped through a shoppng centre on motorbikes, horrifying shoppers who witnessed the high-speed smash-and-grab.
Officers are trying to track down the gang, who were dressed in black and wearing crash helmets, as they raced through Brent Cross shopping centre on three powerful motorbikes just after opening time at around 10.15am on Tuesday.
The three who were riding pillion leaped off and used axes and bats to smash windows of the Fraser Hart jewellery store.
Shoppers described how alarms sounded and barriers came down across shops as the gang raced through the centre, forcing shoppers to flee in panic
Flying Squad detectives from the Metropolitan Police investigating the robbery have issued CCTV of the theft taking place, to assist in appeals for witnesses and information.
Police are also issuing images of the motorbikes used by the suspects, which were abandoned in Mill Hill shortly after the offence took place.
No arrests have been made in connection with the incident.
Detective Chief Inspector Harry Hennigan, of the Finchley Flying Squad, said: 'It is miraculous how nobody was injured during yesterday's shocking events.
'The suspects had absolutely no regard for public safety, and they could have very easily mown down an unsuspecting shopper or member of staff.
'We continue to reiterate appeals for information and urge anyone who may have seen the sequence of events to contact us.
'We are also appealing to anyone who may have seen the three motorbikes being driven from Brent Cross to Mill Hill. We urge anyone with information to call our incident room.'
The terrifying smash and grab came a day before a pawnbroker's was targeted less than two miles away by another gang riding motorbikes.
A group of three smashed windows with sledgehammers at the pawnbrokers in Kilburn, north west London, making off with fistfuls of jewellery.
Otis Corby, who works in a Cash Converters shop on Kilburn High Road, said the raid happened in the blink of an eye.
'There was a loud crash and then they made off down the road with whatever they had got.'
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'At 10am this morning three men all wearing helmets took part in a smash-and-grab raid in Kilburn.
No arrests have been made in connection with this incident.
Police refused to confirm if they believed the attacks were related and said it was 'too early to speculate' whether they were looking at links between the incidents.
The thugs who targeted Brent Cross are believed to have taken Cartier and Rolex watches as well as other items of jewellery before speeding off.
Witnesses described how shoppers began to panic as the robbery took place, with many people running for the exits.
Some shops would not let customers leave while the incident was underway.
Michelle Webber, 36, was at the shopping centre when the robbery took place.
She said as she entered - about 10 minutes before the robbery took place - she heard a man behind her say: 'let the fun begin'.
Shortly afterwards she described how a wave of panic gripped the shopping centre.
'A man came running towards us shouting 'everybody out'.
'My first thought was that there was a bomb and I just started thinking about my children and my family, my stomach turned.
'People started running out of the stores in a panic.
'There was a surge of people coming towards us. They were all running at the same time away from what was happening.
'All of a sudden the shutters started coming down in the shops around us and we realised that something serious had happened.
'I caught up with the guy who had been shouting and he said there were some guys upstairs on bikes with pickaxes who had broken into the jeweller's.'
Photographer Rick Treister was on his way to the Apple store in Brent Cross when he heard the sound of screaming and breaking glass.
Seconds later the three bikes came roaring towards him past Clarks shoe store.
He said: 'I did not have time to be frightened, the whole thing did not seem real.
'It was like the James Bond film, you could not believe something like this was happening inside Brent Cross.
'I just grabbed my camera phone and managed to get one picture. The guy on the front bike shouted something at me when he went past.
'The whole place was going mad. The women in John Lewis were screaming and the man in the jewellery store ran out after the robbers shouting “You b******s!'
'Watches were just dropping off the motorbikes as they went. They accelerated away and I don’t know where they went after that.'
There were no injuries, however, an elderly man was treated for shock at the scene.
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: 'No firearms were seen. The suspects fled the scene on the motorbikes in the direction of Hendon Central.
'The motorbikes were subsequently found abandoned a short time later at a nearby golf course.'
A spokesman for Brent Cross Shopping Centre said: 'We can confirm that there was an incident at the centre earlier this morning when there was an attempted robbery on a store at Brent Cross.
'The police have cordoned off a section of the centre to investigate the incident and we are assisting them with their enquiries.
'A small area is closed off to the public and Brent Cross staff are directing customers to alternative entrances. The majority of stores remain open as normal.'
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