A barrister has described how he witnessed a neo-Nazi attack outside a kosher restaurant just hours after Holocaust memorial day.

Two men performed Nazi salutes and shouted “Heil Hitler” during the incident.

Neville Kesselman, 71, was with a group of friends when the pair carried out the attack in Golders Green, north-west London, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Mr Kesselman said: “I saw two men in their 30s in neo-Nazi uniform. They both had shaved heads and were marching purposefully. In a nasty, growling voice they shouted ‘Adolf Hitler! Heil!’ and raised their arms in a Nazi salute. It was clearly racially aggravated. I was shocked and deeply hurt.”

Mr Kesselman, a former senior crown prosecutor, said diners were shocked that the incident should take place shortly after Yom HaShoah.

The men were pursued by volunteers from the Shomrim community security force and were arrested by police officers near Golders Green Tube station.

Shomrim chief executive Gary Ost said: “We sent members to help the older Jewish man who was very shaken up. The two men posed no immediate threat so we followed them at a safe distance while liaising with police.

“It is disgusting that such an incident can happen in England in 2014.”

Barnet police confirmed two men were arrested following an allegation of a public order offence and enquiries were continuing as the JC went to press.