A jewellers in North Finchley was attacked in an armed robbery on Tuesday morning.

Police were called to Seaton Jewellers on North Finchley’s High Road at 9.15 on Tuesday morning after the owner and a staff member were attacked by a man in a balaclava holding a knife.

It is believed that the suspect entered the shop through the rear of the premises, the Metropolitan Police said.

Two members of staff were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Helen Michael, who owns a café two doors away, called the police and saw much of what happened. She said: “The robber had made a hole in the back wall and was obviously waiting for the owner because he had the key to the safe. One of the staff collapsed and the robber clearly thought he had killed him, and he escaped back through the hole in the wall.”

The man ran down they alley behind the shop pausing only to dispose of his knife, which Ms Michael described as “large”, in a bin, from where is has since been retrieved.

The jewellers has been owned by the Seaton family since the 1960s. Former owner Solly Seaton, who died in 1995, was once described by the JC as an “ambassador for the Jewish community” in the area.