Five masked armed robbers stormed a West Auckland Michael Hill Jeweller store this afternoon

The robbers allegedly used hammers to smash glass cabinets, before taking off with the loot.

A witness called police after seeing five people dressed head to toe in black, and realised they were about to rob a store.

Police swarmed Westgate's NorthWest Shopping Centre at about 4pm and told people to evacuate the mall.

Another witness told Newshub everyone was panicking after initially thinking there was a gunman in the mall.