A car was blown up in Mill Hill following a carjacking and robbery in Bushey.

Hertfordshire Police are hunting three men who attempted to steal a black Mercedes C-class from a man in his 50s in Claybury, Bushey at about 11.35pm last night.

The trio set upon the man as he was about to get into his car and tried to grab the victim’s keys, but after a struggle they gave up and made off with two holdall bags containing jewellery snatched from the boot of the Mercedes.

The robbers ran off in the direction of Sparrows Herne, Bushey and the victim followed in his car.

The victim managed to stop the men in Sparrows Herne where he was attacked by two of them.

A man in his 30s driving a silver Honda Jazz witnessed the drama and stopped at the scene.

On seeing the driver of the Honda, one of the robbers assaulted him and dragged him out of his car.

The robber then got into the vehicle and was joined by the other men. They drove away in the direction of Bushey.

The Honda was later blown up in Norbury Grove, Mill Hill.

The Metropolitan Police discovered the car at about 12.35am this morning and found butane gas canisters inside. No one was injured.

A Met spokesman said: “LFB were not required and the car was made safe by police.”

Detective Inspector for Hertsmere Local Crime Unit Matt Phillips said: “This was a serious incident but thankfully neither victim sustained any significant injuries. We are currently following a number of lines of enquiry and believe this may have been a targeted incident.

“As part of our enquiries, I would like anyone who witnessed any part of the incident to contact my team as soon as possible. Any information, however seemingly insignificant you believe it to be, could really assist the detectives investigating these crimes.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Hertsmere Local Crime Unit on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or at www.crimestoppers-uk.org