Harehills jeweller left with £25k losses after armed raid

Mazitr Iqbal says his business was already struggling before the raid

A businessman has been left £25,000 out-of-pocket after armed thieves ram-raided his jewellery shop.

Mirpur Jewellers in Harehills, Leeds was targeted by hammer-wielding robbers on 4 April, with an estimated £15,000 worth of goods stolen.

Owner Mazitr Iqbal said the heist also caused up to £10,000 worth of damage.

A 42-year-old man has been arrested and released on conditional bail, West Yorkshire Police said.

Mr Iqbal was in the shop on Harehills Road at the time of the raid and told the BBC: "It [was] very bad and very shocking."

The 51-year-old, who moved from Mirpur in Kashmir to West Yorkshire 25 years ago, said he had run his shop for 15 years without any problems, despite the area having historically high rates of crime.

"I love my shop, I love my work, I work very hard seven days a week," he said.

"I never did anything to anybody."

The thieves stole about £15,000 worth of stock

Mr Iqbal, who lives in Bradford, said he did not have insurance because premiums had been too high too afford.

"I'm very much struggling. In business these days it's hard to survive. It's hard for me already," he said.

The business owner had been in the back of the shop when thieves struck at about 18:30 BST.

West Yorkshire Police said the masked suspects used a Toyota RAV4 to crash into the shop front before smashing their way into the glass displays.

Mr Iqbal said was alerted to the robbery when a CCTV camera fell off the wall and he locked himself in a back room.

He estimated the thieves took just 60 seconds to inflicts thousands of pounds worth of damage to his business, forcing him to close temporarily.

Mr Iqbal, who is Muslim, said as a result of the break-in he had been unable to enjoy the recent Eid festival - one of the biggest dates in the Islamic calendar.

He added that he hoped to reopen next week.