Two men wearing balaclavas smashed the window of a jewellers with sledgehammers, stealing a quantity of jewellery and fleeing on foot.

Police were called at 10.59am today to Phillips, in Brook Street, Ilkley, while the smash-and-grab raid was in progress.

People who live in flats above the jewellers claimed that it was 25 minutes before the first police car arrived.

Police sealed off an area of Brook Street outside the shop and the police helicopter could been seen circling over the town.

It is believed that the thieves ran down Brook Street. It is thought that at least one member of the public gave chase but was outpaced by the robbers.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said no one was injured in the incident and police enquiries are ongoing.

The robbery is being investigated by CID officers who have appealed for anyone with mobile phone footage of the incident to contact them.

No-one was available for comment from Phillips but a spokesman for the business posted a message on its Twitter profile which thanked Ilkley residents for their messages of support.

The Twitter message said: "Due to an incident we will be shut for the rest of the day. Thank you to all the local help from the Ilkley residents."

A later tweet added: "Thank you everyone for your kind messages of support, everyone is okay, nobody was hurt. We will open tomorrow (Saturday) as normal. Thanks."

Residents took to Facebook to say how shocked they were.

One woman said: "Shocked and saddened to read this. I've been a loyal customer for over 20 years - always greeted with a smile and superb service."

Phillips of Ilkley is run by Trevor and Richard Thompson. The former has operated in the town for over 30 years.

The shop sells high quality jewellery, diamonds and watches.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Bradford District CID on 101, quoting log 453 of 29/4 or to contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, who can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555111.