Video: Watch the dramatic moment a gang of machete-wielding thugs invade restaurant

Dramatic CCTV footage has emerged of the hair-raising moment a gang of machete-wielding assailants attacked a busy restaurant in China.

The footage, believed to have been captured earlier this month in Shaanxi Province, shows between five and six masked men armed with huge machetes rush into the restaurant and begin smashing everything in sight - at one point even appearing to throw food and cutlery.

As chaos descends on the restaurant, the camera shows customers fleeing in terror from the men, believed to belong to a local gang, as they destroy the furniture of the shop after the eatery’s owner allegedly failed to pay protection money to their gang.

Mr Tang, who has owned and run the business for a year, explained to local media that the men rushed into his store during the busiest part of the day and although all of his customers escaped without injuries, his store was trashed.

Many other stores have paid thousands of Yuan in protection money, but so far Mr Tang has refused to bow to the gangs.

Local police are investigating the incident.

Video courtesy of Newsflare.com