A Jewish man was part of a group which stole a safe from a family home, a jury has heard.

Ronen Izraelov, 21, conspired with four others to take the safe from the property in Finchley, north London, in November last year, it was claimed.

When he was arrested, he is said to have told police the Jewish community was “scum”. The victims were a Jewish family known to the group.

Christiaan Moll, prosecuting, told Wood Green Crown Court the men had been “in agreement to do an illegal act. Each of these defendants was part of an arrangement to steal a safe”.

The jury watched CCTV footage from November 3 last year which showed youths approaching the house shortly after midnight. Around 20 minutes later the cameras showed four people — all wearing hoods — carrying a heavy item.

Mr Moll said the prosecution case would largely rely on evidence gained from tracing messages and phone calls between the co-defendants. He believed that “when the strands are threaded together, the case is a compelling one”.

The house-owner, Benzion Nassim, was on holiday at the time of the theft. He said the safe contained diamond and gold jewellery. The items were returned after the safe was recovered.

But under cross-examination from defence lawyer Neville Rudson, Mr Nassim said he felt it would be an “injustice” if the defendants were convicted. He said: “I don’t think I should be here even as a witness. I did not see anything. I got my goods back.”

Izraelov, of Broughton Avenue, Finchley, brothers Orcan and Soner Kubilay, and two other defendants — one of them Jewish — who cannot be named because of their age, deny conspiracy to steal.

The trial continues.