Police arrested the man at a nearby address a hour after being called to the scene near Stamford Hill, which has a large orthodox Jewish community

Photographs showed the man, who was wearing a white hooded top and light blue trousers, brandishing what was thought to be a meat cleaver and a long, thin knife.

Shomrim NE London, a community safety scheme in the area, reported on its Twitter page: “Man with meat cleaver & large knife threatened a young Jewish girl in Upper Clapton [shouting] ‘you Jews run away from here before I kill you’."

He added: "Suspect who threatened Jews with meat cleaver and large knife in Upper Clapton has just been arrested by Police."

Scotland Yard said they had been called at around 4pm to reports of a man armed with two knives threatening a shopkeeper on Upper Clapton Road.

A Met Police spokesman said nobody had been hurt in the incident and a man was later detained at a nearby address.