Shildon Santinni restaurant: Children's party 'terrified' by masked raid

Santinni restaurant in Shildon was hosting a birthday party when the windows were smashed

Diners including "terrified" children at a birthday party were forced to run for cover when two masked men smashed a restaurant's windows, staff have said.

The pair used an axe and a baseball bat during the attack at Santinni in Shildon, County Durham, before fleeing.

Screaming children "jumped over tables" to make their escape as diners barricaded themselves into a toilet while others were sick, witnesses said.

Police are investigating the incident which happened on Wednesday evening.

The rampage, at about 18:40 GMT, was captured on the restaurant's CCTV cameras in Main Street.

Footage shows the balaclava-clad men get out of a vehicle before launching their assault, which was over within seconds.

'Awful screams'

Customers at the restaurant at the time of the raid included 13 children who had been enjoying an 11-year-old's birthday party.

Nicola Weldon, who was working at the restaurant, said: "It was awful, the screams of the kids.

"They were jumping over the tables trying to get to the back. It wasn't very nice."

The men were armed with a baseball bat and an axe

Colleague Fiona Ferrier added that the children were left "absolutely terrified".

"All night I have been up completely replaying the looks on their faces, the sound, the terror in their voices. As a mum, that's just something that doesn't leave you."

Restaurant owner Kerry Varan told BBC Look North that some people were physically sick inside the restaurant because "they were that scared".

"Windows can be fixed and we can open straight away, that's not the problem to us - it's the trauma caused to my staff and my customers.

"Nobody deserves to come out for a meal and experience that at all."

Durham police said it was investigating the attack and witnesses were being urged to come forward.