Masked armed raiders fled with jewellery after an attack on a pawnbroker in Bradford city centre yesterday.

Eyewitnesses said two men, believed to be carrying guns, grabbed the jewellery from a window display at H&T Pawnbrokers, in James Street, during the attack just before 5.30pm.

Eyewitnesses said the raiders then fled on foot towards the city’s main shopping areas, moments before police arrived on the scene.

Today a West Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed officers were investigating the raid and said the suspects were believed to be two white men.

It is believed the raiders who carried out the attack are still on the run.

An area around the shop was cordoned off by police as members of scientific support staff arrived to carry out forensic examinations and speak to staff at the store.

It is not known how much jewellery was taken in the raid, but the display in the shops main window had been attacked, and it appeared thousands of pounds worth of stock had been taken.

A black vice-like device could still be seen attached to the door frame, and Deena Lynch, who works in the nearby Fish Dish said she believed it had been used to stop a security door from closing.

“A man ran in our shop and said the jewellers was being held up at gunpoint,” she said. “We didn’t believe him but came outside to look and then saw the men running down the street.

“Someone said they had guns and had used them to smash a window and said they used something to wedge the door open, because it’s on a time lock.”

Miss Lynch said she did not believe anyone had been injured in the raid and thought the masked raiders were white men.

Posters in the window of the pawnbrokers were advertising a fun day at the store today from 10.30am to 3pm offering games, raffles, competitions and prizes. It is not known if the event will go ahead.