A WOMAN imprisoned during a violent robbery at a Rayners Lane jewellers has spoken of her shocking ordeal.

Three men, hiding their faces with hoods, stormed into Sangaman Jewellers where one jumped over the counter and repeatedly punched and kicked a man in his fifties who was working there.

They dragged his niece, a woman in her 20s, into the back of the shop where she stood, helplessly watching the brutal attack on the shop's CCTV camera until they locked her in the bathroom out of sight.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said: “I shouted 'open the door, open the door'. I didn't have much energy.

“After that my uncle took me inside the main room and I saw what had been going on there. They beat him with a weapon. All over his t-shirt there was blood.

“He had cuts all over one side of his face. For about half-an-hour I was shocked. Then I started crying.”

One member of the group held her uncle on the ground, out of sight from members of the public walking passed.

They kicked him and punched him with a weapon, which she described as similar to a stud from a football boot, throughout the robbery, at around 5.40pm on Saturday.

The other two snatched large quantities of jewellery, stashing it in a black bag, before smashing through a window at the front of the shop to make their escape.

The woman's uncle was left with cuts to the back of his head, his back and his legs and his t-shirt was soaked in blood.

He was taken to hospital where he was treated for his injuries and later released.

Jeyanthan Jej, director of the jewellers, said: “They attacked my brother and he fell down. Normally at 5pm there are people walking in the area. We cannot believe this happened.

“I opened this shop one-and-a-half years ago and nothing like this has happened. My brother is okay now. He went to hospital and he's got a lot of medicine.”

The trio, all described as black and wearing hooded tops, ran along Rayners Lane to Village Way where a getaway driver in a blue, Volvo 440 with a K registration plate was waiting for them.

They escaped down Village Way East, turning left onto Park Road.

Police believe all four are in their 20s. No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information can contact Finchley Flying Squad on 0208 358 1751, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.