Astonishing moment masked thieves interrupt Australian TV presenter's Grenfell report

This is the shocking moment an Australian television presenter tried to stop masked thieves stealing a £15,000 television camera from her crew in a trendy London street just moments after they finished a live piece on the Royal Family.

Reporter Laurel Irving and cameraman Jimmy Cannon were in Exmouth Market, Islington, beginning a pre-recorded segment on the Grenfell fire for Channel 7's Sunrise morning show when they were approached by a pair of men in balaclavas in the popular 'hipster' area.

One of the men approached Mr Cannon and threatened him with a gun in his jacket, forcing him to hand over his £15,000 camera. 

Mother-of-two Ms Irving, who has daughters aged 10 and 12, then tried to wrestle it back and demanded the thief 'show her the gun' before Mr Cannon convinced her to let go and the robbers escaped with the equipment on bicycles.

Speaking to MailOnline, Ms Irving said grabbing the camera was a 'gut reaction'.

She said: 'We weren't scared, we were just annoyed. I just grabbed the camera and Jimmy said "He's got a gun," so I said "Show me the gun," and it was that at that point I realised I was being silly and it was dangerous so I let go.'  

Ms Irving later thanked fans on Twitter and praised colleague Jimmy Cannon for how he handled the robbery.

She said: 'Thanks everyone for the love. We're all good. @7_Cannon was fantastic. The London crime rate though is crazy.'

The incident on Monday night comes amid a huge crime wave across London with moped gangs running amok, including repeated raids on jewellers and a smash and grab attack on comedian Michael McIntyre, whose £15,000 Rolex was stolen by thugs who battered his Range Rover with a hammer while his 10-year-old son was inside.