Residents in an affluent suburb of Bristol were left shaken after four men armed with sledgehammers raided a jewellery shop in broad daylight.

Avon and Somerset police said the raiders stole what is described as a “substantial amount of high-value jewellery” from the Millennium Two shop in the heart of Bristol's Clifton Village.

While shoppers and residents enjoyed lunch and drinks on a sunny Saturday afternoon, a blue car pulled up outside the jewellers on Portland Street at about 2.30pm.

Four men got out of the car, a blue Ford Focus estate, before entering the shop armed with the sledgehammers.

Smashing the glass boxes on display in the window, the robbers managed to get hold of a substantial amount of jewellery and gems thought to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The Ford Focus was later found abandoned in Cecil Road, Clifton, and the men are believed to have then made good their escape in a white Ford Escort van.

Two of the gang were white and two were black. All four were wearing gloves and hooded tops. One of the shop workers, a 22-year-old woman had to be treated for shock following the incident which has left the community shaken.

Detective sergeant Gary Haskins, of Avon and Somerset police, said: “The jewellers is around the corner from the Brunel pub. There were a number of people sat outside enjoying a drink in the sunshine and we'd be very keen to hear from them.

“We believe the men drove up The Mall before turning in to Portland Street. We also believe that an elderly couple walked past the shop just as the men entered. We'd like them to come forward because they could be vital witnesses.”

One resident said yesterday: “You just don't expect things like this to happen in Clifton, especially not in broad daylight.

“The shop workers must have been terrified. It really makes you afraid to leave your house.”

Witnesses can call Bristol CID on 0845 4567000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.