Designer robbed of an £8,000 ring

Nicole Farhi is a regular at London Fashion Week

Fashion designer Nicole Farhi has been robbed at knifepoint of a ring valued at £8,000.

Ms Farhi, 61, was threatened by two men, aged between 25 and 35, outside her home in Frognal, near Hampstead High Street, in north-west London.

They then drove off in a silver car, heading towards Finchley Road.

Ms Farhi, who worked for French Connection for more than 10 years, also had a watch and foreign cash stolen in the robbery. No-one has been arrested.

Made a CBE

Det Ch Insp Steve Burns said: "There have been three incidents over the last three months in Hampstead where lone women have been robbed of their jewellery."

The suspects for these robberies, which took place last Thursday, are described as young black males.

French-Algerian Farhi was born in Nice and began her career as a freelance in Paris before moving to London in the 1970s.

She was made a CBE in October 2007 for services to the retail industry.