A GANG of racist thugs threatened staff at an estate agents before smashing the large front display window.

The attack at Alarifeen Properties in Halliwell Road, Bolton, left workers terrified. Business director Abdullah Safdar was in the office with four colleagues and two customers when a man barged in and began shouting abuse and threats.

The man claimed Mr Safdar was about to evict his sister. Mr Safdar, aged 62, said: “He picked up a coffee table and hurled it at me. Then two of his friends who had been sitting in a car outside came in armed with a lump hammer and a baseball bat and started shouting and threatening me.”

The men smashed the window as they left, causing £700 worth of damage.

The incident took place on Wednesday at around 12.30pm,but the gang returned at about 5.30pm.

Mr Safdar said they drove up to the shop and began shouting racist abuse and threw bricks at a side window and the store sign. He said: “Since this happened I have had to have the shutters down. I am losing customers because of it and I’m scared that they will come back.”

A police spokesman said: “We are investigating both these incidents and we take any allegations of hate crime very seriously.”