CCTV of jewel shop raiders issued

The gunman spoke with an Eastern European accent

CCTV images of armed robbers who stole luxury watches valued at thousands of pounds in a raid on a Newcastle city centre jewellers have been released.

Three men, one armed with a gun, used a claw hammer to smash display cabinets inside Berry's Jewellers, according to Northumbria Police.

The raiders fled the store, in Grey Street, after grabbing the watches on Wednesday morning.

The gunman, who made threats to staff, spoke with an Eastern European accent.

Det Insp Lee Buzzeo, of Northumbria Police, said: "This was no opportunist job and there was a considerable amount of planning made before this robbery.

Police believe the claw hammer was bought locally

"We believe the claw hammer used to smash the display cabinets in the jewellers was bought locally prior to the offence."

The gunman is described as 5ft 10in (1.8m) tall, of medium build, with short, dirty blond hair. He was wearing a dark jacket, dark jeans and black trainers.

The second man was between 5ft 6in (1.7m) to 5ft 10in tall, of medium build and was wearing a black jacket, dark tracksuit bottoms and a beige hat.

The final robber was of medium build and he was wearing a dark-coloured jacket and white baseball cap, with light grey trousers and dark shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police.