A terrified shopkeeper and a woman employee were threatened at gunpoint in a £100,000 armed robbery at a family-run Bradford jewellers yesterday.

The raiders struck as the male member of the family and the female member of staff opened the shop at 11am.

As they prepared to put the gold jewellery on display in the Maidstone Street, Bradford Moor, premises of Shaandar Zewar Jewellers, a stolen Ford Focus was reversed through the main display window, smashing the glass.

Four men, disguised by balaclava masks, burst in through the shattered window.

Two of the robbers were brandishing firearms and threatened the shopkeeper and his assistant, though no shots were fired.

The raiders fled to a waiting getaway car, a black Volkswagen Golf GTi, registration MJ55 YBT, which had also been stolen.

It was found burned out in Bullroyd Avenue, Fairweather Green, a short time later.

Detective Inspector Ian Bryar, of Bradford South CID, who is leading the investigation, said: “Fortunately, no-one was injured during this robbery, but the shopkeeper and his assistant have been left very shaken by the incident.”

He appealed to anyone who was in the area at the time of the robbery, or who saw the Golf being driven away afterwards, to contact him.

Police cordoned off the premises – an end-terrace in a quiet residential area at the junction of Lapage Street and Maidstone Street – blocking traffic in four directions.

Six officers patrolled the area inside the cordon, which was surrounded by about 30 residents.

Mohammed Ali, whose brother Mohammed Umar owns the shop, was among the onlookers.

He said: “My father and a member of staff were opening the shop. They were putting the display out and had opened the safe.

“Four men in a car reversed into the shop and then came in with guns. The goods were laid out on counters ready to be put up in the display.

“It was about five minutes after they had opened. The men threatened them with the guns. A customer came by and they pointed the gun at him and they swore at him and told him to go away. They took almost everything in the shop before making off in another car.

“My brother has had the shop for six or seven years and has never had any problems before.”

Mr Ali said his father and the employee were shaken by the incident. He said more than £100,000 of jewellery was taken.

A scenes-of-crime officer placed items found outside the jewellers into sealed plastic bags and laid out police markers on a grassy verge in front of the shop. The Ford Focus, which had been abandoned after being used by the raiders to ram the shop, was removed.