Thieves have stolen fur coats worth more than one million dollars from a top Madison Avenue store in Manhattan, New York.

The theft happened on Christmas Eve after one of three suspects hurled a brick through the window of the Dennis Basso store just before 5am.

Mr Basso said they made off with several Russian sable coats, some of which were worth as much as 200,000 dollars each.

Store executive Achilleas Georgiades said he could not believe something like this happened in "civilised" Madison Avenue.

Surveillance video captured one of the thieves being struck on the head by a metal beam after climbing through the shattered window.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) group said the theft served Mr Basso right for peddling fur.

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