THREE men dressed in burkas used a sledgehammer to smash their way into a jewellers in front of terrified customers.

The raiders struck just after 6pm last night at Madina Jewellers, in Derby Street, Daubhill.

One of the gang tricked the shop owners into letting him in by disguising himself in a women’s burka, which covered most of his face, and ringing the shop’s doorbell.

When a member of staff opened the first security door, the robber beckoned his accomplices to follow him inside.

The four shop workers, who were serving three customers, tried to prevent the raid by keeping a second security door closed, but the men smashed their way through and stole a display cabinet containing jewellery.

The men ran off after staff pressed an alarm button, which filled the store with smoke.

Store owner Faisal Malik said the men wore burkas as a disguise.

“I wasn’t here but the staff were serving a couple of customers when somebody rang the bell.

“When the staff had seen the face of a burka, she has let him in.

“As he has gone in, he has shouted to the rest to come in.

“They got in through the first door but the staff didn’t let them in so they smashed it with a sledgehammer and gained access,” he said.

Mr Malik believes all the jewellery would have been stolen if he had not used the smoke alarm.

He said it was the third time the shop has been robbed in the last year, and the specialist alarm was installed after one of the other raids earlier this year.

“If the staff hadn’t pressed the buzzer for the alarm then we would have got cleaned out,” he said.

Mr Malik said police would be analysing the store’s CCTV footage and fingerprints on the sledgehammer, which was left behind.

Nobody was hurt in the incident, but the staff and customers were said to be terrified.

A spokesman confirmed police were investigating and asked for anyone with information to call them on 101.