A murder inquiry was launched today after an elderly man was hacked to death in an axe attack in one of North London's most exclusive suburbs.

Armed police arrived at the scene of the attack in Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, at 9.38am to find the victim, a white man in his 60s, with what officers are describing as severe injuries.

A second man, believed to be in his 30s, was arrested at the scene and is being questioned by detectives at a police station in Holborn.

Neighbours raised the alarm when they heard the sounds of screams and shouting in the peaceful residential street, in a district whose multi-million pound Victorian houses are home to a host of music and television celebrities. Mothers walking their children to nearby schools are likely to have been among the witnesses.

A scaffolder working nearby described seeing a young man running towards his victim with the axe above his head. He began to launch a flurry of violent blows, knocking the man to the floor and continuing to hack at him as he lay on the pavement, trying to shield his head with his hands.

Armed officers arrived to discover the elderly man's body lying on the pavement. A man described as being in his 30s was kneeling over him, holding a dustbin lid in one hand.

Nick Blackford, who lives nearby, told Sky News: "I heard a lot of screaming in the street and got out of bed. I looked out of my window and saw a man being approached by two men holding iron bars. They had been working on scaffolding up the road and had obviously seen what had happened and tried to intervene, but they were too late.

"Police came really quickly and they forced the guy into arrest. He had blood on his hands. It was pretty shocking stuff. From what I could see he was holding a small hand axe."

There is a suggestion that the men knew one another, although that has not been confirmed by police.

One female neighbour, who asked not to be named, told The Times: "I heard a blood-curdling scream on the street outside. I looked out and saw a man swinging an axe up and down. He was behind the hedge so I couldn't see what he was hitting. It looked like he was killing a dog.

"Then I saw a builder run towards him and it looked like he was holding him at bay.

"The man was just sitting on the pavement, looking exhausted, and armed police turned up and took him off."

Caroline McClatchey, a reporter for the Hampstead and Highgate Express, raced to the scene from her newspaper's offices at the end of the road.

She said: "Police had sealed off a large chunk of the road but I saw a man splayed on the floor, covered from head to foot in blood. He looked to have been smartly dressed in khaki trousers and a red jacket. There was what looked like a small axe or a hammer lying on the floor by his body.

"A large crowd of people were gathering and police taped off the road and covered the body with a white forensic tent.

"I spoke to one man who said he had been woken by the sound of screaming and shouting. He said he looked out of his window and saw the attacker kneeling on the floor covered in blood, with a dustbin lid in his hand.

"Armed police arrived at the scene very quickly and the man was arrested. He apparently made no attempt to struggle and was quietly led away.

"By then, all the curtains were twitching and everyone was looking out of their windows. This sort of thing just doesn't happen around here - it's a very quiet area with families and lots of schools."

Mr Blackford added: "You don't get a lot of crime in Swiss Cottage and Eton Avenue is a really nice residential area. You don't expect something like that to happen there at all. I've spoken to people and everybody is really shocked, no-one can believe that something like this has happened here."

A London Ambulance spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that we were called shortly before 9.40am to Eton Avenue, NW3.

"We sent a rapid response car and two ambulance crews. A man was pronounced dead at the scene."

The attack took place near Hampstead Theatre although a spokeswoman said no one there saw the incident take place. Part of Eton Avenue was pedestrianised last year to allow for a market.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "A post-mortem will be held in due course. The victim has yet to be formally identified."

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Sarah Brown says 'no thanks' to veal at G8 - twice
• Stockton-on-Tees is obesity capital of Britain
• Stores blame poor sales on Murray factor