SHOCKED parents have described witnessing a jewellers come under attack from an armed gang in a busy Gravesend street.

Crowds of people watched in horror as the three men, one carrying a sledgehammer, smashed their way into the shop in Wrotham Road during broad daylight on Thursday.

A woman, whom News Shopper agreed not to name, was sat in her car in the lay-by opposite when the gang struck Amrit Jewellers at about 3pm.

She said: “I heard a big bang and saw one of them smashing the door with a great big sledgehammer – it was unbelievable.

"Everyone was stood around thinking ‘is this happening?’ “As soon as they saw the smoke they legged it into the van and drove off.”

One of the gang broke down the door and destroyed a display cabinet after being buzzed through the outer security door.

But the terrified shop assistant scared the sledgehammer-wielding man off by sounding the alarm which released a plume of smoke.

The gang left empty handed and escaped in a van driven by a fourth man.

Many of the witnesses were parents and children walking home from school.

Another woman, who saw the white getaway van parked in the layby next to the shop speed off, said: “It was quite unbelievable, especially because it was daylight.

“My neighbour ran out thinking the shop was on fire and there were people inside.

“It really was billowing out.”

The first man is described as black, 5ft 6ins, aged 20-25 with a muscular build, the second as black, 5ft 3ins, aged 20-23 with a lean muscular build, and the driver as a black in his 30s wearing a black and white bandana and hooded top.

Anybody with information is asked to call Kent Police on 101, quoting crime reference XY/038982/12, or Kent Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.