A Maltese visitor to London is likely to remember his current trip not for the sights, but for a daring robbery he witnessed this morning.

Ivor Zammit said he was outside Harrods in Knightsbridge when three motorcyclists roared onto the pavement across the road, sending people scattering in all directions.

They stopped outside the well-known Mozafarian jewellery brandishing what looked like metal rods.

One of them used his weapon to smash open an electronic door and moved inside carrying a bag. He came out within a few minutes, dropping jewellery on the way and the three motorcyclists drove off at speed.

"One woman found a beautiful bracelet on the pavement, she gave it back, obviously," Mr Zammit said.

He said the salesgirls in the shop were in shock, as indeed were the people who had seen the scene unfolding, like on a film, before their eyes.

No one is believed to have been injured. The thieves wore crash helmets and are thus likely to have thwarted CCTV cameras.