Heartless thugs riding mopeds allegedly smashed through the doors of a trendy coffee shop and a hairdressers in a leafy west London street on Christmas Day.

The owners of popular Chiswick café and street vending van, The Coffee Traveller, spoke of the trauma of learning callous thieves had caused £8,000 worth of damage to their business during a raid which lasted “less than a minute”.

Neil Vanstone and his wife Rebecca, 35, were woken by Metropolitan Police officers just before midnight to be told their shop had been broken into.

The pair had gone to bed after travelling back from Kent where they had been enjoying festivities with Mr Vanstone’s family.

The 45-year-old told the Standard: “It’s not something you expect, especially on Christmas Day.

“The first thought you have is about your family, it is quite traumatic.”

Police believe two suspects used a black moped to ram through the door of the coffee shop and witnesses reported hearing “five loud bangs”.

Mr Vanstone said: “The neighbours said they heard five loud bangs when they were ramming into the door of the shop.

“They’ve destroyed the door and the surround but they were in and out in less than a minute.”

Nothing was taken from inside the café, which opened last summer.

Dramatic images posted on social media showed a smashed-up till strewn across the floor.

The owner added: “They were clearly looking for cash but we never leave cash inside overnight.

“They have broken the till which is going to cost us around £2,000 to replace.

“On Christmas Day of all days, what makes people stoop that low?”

Just minutes later the same suspects are believed to have smashed the vehicle through the door of Cascade Hairdressing, also on Thames Road, as the owners slept upstairs.

Mr Vanstone added that neighbours reported hearing “two loud bangs” before the raiders crashed through the door.

He said: “It took them slightly less time to get into the hairdressers but the owners were sleeping upstairs and confronted them before chasing them off.”

The couple, who have been married for four years, said the alleged burglary had “ruined Christmas” and left them feeling “alone and vulnerable”.

However, they hailed customers for their “unwavering support”.

Mr Vanstone said: “We’ve had messages of support on Facebook, I’ve had texts, emails, people inviting us for coffee.

“It’s like having your family around you. That’s what’s made it bearable for us, having an excellent community around us.

“I just want to catch these people are get them off our streets and away from our neighbourhood.”

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Police were called shortly before midnight on Sunday,

December 25 to reports of two suspects on a black moped who were seen to break into a coffee shop and hairdressers.

“Despite causing extensive damage, no money or property was stolen during the burglaries.”

Detectives from Hounslow CID are investigating and would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the suspects fleeing from the scene.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101.