Jewellery shop workers tried to fight off axe-wielding robbers with a rounders bat as they stole around 40,000 worth of watches. Bonds of Brentwood was the target of a brazen daylight robbery on Tuesday (October 11) around 12.50pm by two men with axes who then escaped on the back of two mopeds driven by two other men.
“They pulled up and tried to get in the door first,” said owner Nik Robinson, who was in the Ingrave Road store at the time.
“Then they tried smashing the windows the staff were in at the time.
“One of them pressed the panic button and then grabbed another member of staff.
“By the time they got to the window they had managed to break through and grabbed a handful of watches.
“The guys fought them off with a small rounders bat to stop the getting more watches.”
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Several people witnessed the audacious burglary, which was over in the space of a minute. Miriam Sowa, who works at Harvey Jones Kitchens across the street, saw the whole incident unfold and called the police.
She said: “There were four guys on two mopeds outside and all of a sudden they started smashing in the window, I didn’t see what they were using.
“They couldn’t break the glass, it must have been really thick, but they kept trying to break in and made a big hole in the window.
“The police came five to 10 minutes later, a couple of them stayed at the shop and a couple chased the two mopeds.
“There were two people on each moped so they can’t have been going very fast.
“They all had helmets on and kitchen towels to cover thier faces, it was really bizarre.”
A woman who works at Ace Travel Management opposite said: “They were wearing jeans and tracksuit tops and black helmets and they tried to smash their way in using an axe.
“They had two bags that looked like laundry bags and then after they were unable to smash their way in, threw the bags on the ground and then drove off towards Brentwood station.
RELATED: Brentwood axe robbers make off with at least 10,000 worth of jewellery1
“They turned right at the cathedral and down Queens Road.
“They can’t have been there for any more than 30 seconds because we heard it and said ‘oh look’ and all of a sudden they were driving off.”
Another witness said the robbers wore snoods to cover their faces.
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Mr Robinson, who has owned the shop for about two years, said: “We are doubling up on everything. We are doubling up on security, we are doubling up on bandit glass and we are getting bomb proof glass fitted.
“Everyone’s unharmed so we are happy about that, it’s just tidying up the aftermath and the mess.
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The two mopeds, one bronze and silver in colour and the other black and grey, were later found in a play area just off Cromwell Road, Brentwood after driving down Ingrave Road and then Queens Road.
A bag and the axe the robbers brought with them were dumped on the pavement outside the shop. Mr Robinson continued: “They seemed to be quite young to me.
“The strange thing is Brentwood Theatre got broken into a few months ago and I gave the theatre a 600 ring for them to sell to get money back on the damage from that burglary.
“Now I have 4,500 or 5,000 worth of damage myself.”
READ MORE: Live Blog: RECAP: Brentwood shop robbed of at least 10k of jewellery by thieves with an axe
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Det Sgt David Wilkinson of Brentwood CID said: “We would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the robbery and anyone who may have captured footage or images of the incident and suspects on their phones.
“Equally we would like to hear from anyone who may have seen the suspects in the Cromwell Road area where the mopeds were later found.
Your help could be vital in helping us catch those responsible.”
Contact detectives at Brentwood CID on 101.
References
- ^ Brentwood axe robbers make off with at least 10,000 worth of jewellery (www.essexlive.news)
- ^ Live Blog: RECAP: Brentwood shop robbed of at least 10k of jewellery by thieves with an axe (www.essexlive.news)