 An axe-wielding gang carried out a daring daylight robbery of a Kingston jeweller in front of dozens of startled shoppers last Friday morning.
Police were called at 10.19am after four men armed with two axes and a hammer smashed displays and grabbed dozens of watches in the smash and grab raid at the Ernest Jones store in Clarence Street.
Eye witness Charlie Burman said: “There was one guy wearing a Royal Mail jacket and waving an axe around while two more were driving round in circles on bikes outside. Another guy was leaning in the window of the jeweller grabbing stuff. Then the other two jumped on the bikes and they drove off.” There were no injuries during the 10 minute raid which was captured on CCTV and police recovered an axe near the scene.
Lorraine Woolf, Sales Assistant at Crabtree & Evelyn, witnessed the event from her shop opposite the jewellers. She first noticed the revving from the two bikes: “There was a horrendous noise. It sounded like a pneumatic drill. One of my colleagues said ‘Oh my God, there’s a robbery.'
I would liken [the robbers] to spiders, or aliens. They were all in black, wearing black motorcycle helmets with visors that were also black. I wouldn’t even be able to tell you the colour of their skin.
A lot of people screamed and ran to our doorway, and were quite scared. There were maybe 20 to 25 people watching. People came running into the shop because they were frightened, and we were moving customers to the back of the store.”
After the break-in the Ernest Jones entrance was strewn with glass, and watches in the shop front window were scattered. Broken glass could also be seen inside the store. The store manager said head office had told him not to comment on the incident for fear of impeding the police investigation. One shopper said it was not the first time the jeweller had been targeted, and had suffered a similar attack a few months earlier. A police spokesperson said no arrests had been made, and anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
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