Doormen have been drafted in to patrol a designer boutique in Primrose Hill after masked thieves struck on Saturday. The bouncers, rumoured to be ex-Israeli servicemen, are now on guard at Press, on Erskine Road where raiders wearing scooter helmets stole

Doormen have been drafted in to patrol a designer boutique in Primrose Hill after masked thieves struck on Saturday.

The bouncers, rumoured to be ex-Israeli servicemen, are now on guard at Press, on Erskine Road where raiders wearing scooter helmets stole designer Chloe handbags worth hundreds of pounds each.

The raid came just hours after a gang smashed their way into nearby Primrose Hill Gallery to steal paintings and contemporary sculpture worth hundreds of pounds.

Along with employing bouncers, Melanie Press, owner of the chic boutique, has vowed never to sell designer handbags again.

"I don't need this aggravation," she said. "It is very flattering that our products are in such demand but I do not like what happened. The doormen will be very elegant but very strong."

Two thieves walked into Press at 3.30pm and grabbed the bags. Shop staff saw them and locked them inside but the pair smashed their way through the front window and fled on the back of waiting scooters.