A hero pensioner has been caught on camera taking on a moped gang armed with axes as they tried to smash their way in to a Mayfair jewellers with a sledgehammer.
The unknown man charged after the six-strong group with his umbrella as he was joined by a group of builders in fending off the raiders at Watchfinder Co off upmarket New Bond Street in London.
The would-be thieves were all wearing bike helmets and struck just hours after a similar gang raided Mappin and Webb jewellers in a near identical robbery less than half a mile away.
After jabbing at the brazen crooks, the pensioner is joined by other members of the public who are seen chasing after two mopeds carrying four offenders, while the other two fled the scene on foot.
Masked raiders tried to smash their way into Watchfinder Co in Mayfair today, pictured, using a sledgehammer to smash against a window
The crooks, armed with axes, pictured, were then spooked by members of the public and ran off, without gaining entry
A have-a-go hero pensioner, left and right, was caught on camera trying to fend off the would-be robbers with an umbrella, jabbing at them as they fled
The workmen poured out of a nearby builder’s yard and shouted at the gang to leave during the broad daylight attack at around 11.15am this morning, even managing to capture one of the gang with cable ties.
Builder Naz Prince, 29, said: ‘They are cheeky little b******s. They razzed up on three bikes and started whacking the shop window with sledgehammers and axes.
‘We shouted for them to stop and they said ‘stay away we will cut you’. One of my mates said ‘sod this’ and ran into the yard and got a load of shovels.
‘When they saw us all coming towards them they obviously bottled it and tried to drive off.
‘One of the bikes fell over and one managed to run off, the other fella got tripped up by someone and we all just dived on him.
‘We tied him up with cable ties and waited for the police to arrive. It does my head in, they razz around threatening people. We’re not having it.’
They eventually sped off on mopeds, with four leaving via the bikes and two more running on foot
The pensioner was joined by a group of builders who also chased off the offenders, pictured
James Strouts, who is head of security at the New Bond Street watch shop, said: ‘We have only been open two weeks, we can’t believe it.
‘Fortunately we operate a closed door policy, people have to be buzzed in. As you can see they had not had a chance getting through.
‘Everyone is okay, shocked obviously. But we are encouraged by the great community spirit round here, we are grateful that everyone came out to stop them.
‘It shows we will not be terrorised by these people.’
A man who helped execute a citizens’ arrest on the robber said: ‘I was in the coffee shop just opposite and heard this commotion.
‘I went to the door and saw what was going on, there were three guys with sledgehammers and they trying to smash through and the others had axes to scare people away.
One of the crooks was eventually captured by the citizens and restrained with cable ties until police arrived, pictured
‘I walked out of the coffee shop and one of them saw me and started walking towards me yelling with an axe in his hand.
‘At that point I thought I was probably time to go back and stay in the coffee shop. Moments late they fled and I joined a few people to chase’
A restaurant worker and his colleagues also joined the group chase off the robbers.
He said: ‘We looked out they were trying to smash the glass so not getting anywhere.
‘Then the builders ran out, we were scared but we piled in as well and chased one of them down. We stick together around here.’
A notice was placed in the window of the store at around 9.45am this morning which simply read ‘we will remain closed today due to unforeseen circumstances. Thank you’.
The audacious robbery came just hours after the gang struck a branch of the upmarket jewellers Mappin and Webb, in Regent Street, just after 7pm on Monday.
The crew smashed their way into the shop using hammers, axes and bats before swiping expensive watches from display cabinets.
The gang of six robbers raided Mappin and Webb on Regent Street shortly before 7.15pm last night
The gang, wielding a machete and a hammer, escaped on one bike after raiding Mappin & Webb in Regent Street, according to police
Staff at the store in discussion after the raid. The thieves made off with a high-value haul after smashing cabinets at the store in the West End at around 7.20pm on Monday.
Three members of the gang are thought to have raided the store, while three accomplices waited outside on the scooters.
The group – two up on each moped – then fled in three separate directions.
One pair sped off in the direction of Oxford Street before their scooter was involved in a collision with a pedestrian, but she did not suffer serious injuries.
A shop assistant at Mappin and Webb, who did not wish to be identified, said: ‘They came in with helmets on and waving weapons around. We have procedures in place so all staff managed to get off the shop floor.
‘They were in the store for one minute 58 seconds. Everyone is shocked but no one was hurt.’
He added: ‘They took watches but we don’t know exactly what yet, there is still glass everywhere.’
A shop worker on Oxford Street saw one of the bikes crash as it made its getaway.
He said: ‘The bike careered along the road, they were carrying bags. I though they were mugging people.
‘One guy was chasing them and pulling at the bags and they came off. It was a chaotic scene.’
A smashed pane of glass. Six robbers have fled on a single moped after a smash-and-grab raid at a high-end jewellers in central London
No arrests have been made and police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward
Mappin & Webb was founded in 1775 and customers have included Queen of France Marie Antoinette, Grace Kelly and Winston Churchill
DC Matt Hollands from the Met’s Flying Squad said: ‘We are following up a number of active leads on this live investigation.
‘This raid was targeted and lasted only a few minutes. My team are busy collecting witness accounts and recovering vital CCTV footage of the burglary at the store and of the suspects leaving the scene.
‘We know that the group panicked and rode recklessly in different directions to escape. Thankfully no members of the public were injured.
‘I’d like to appeal for those who saw the individuals involved, either at the scene or fleeing, to get in touch with police and send us any images and footage that they have.
‘All the suspects wore dark motorcycle clothing and black motorcycle helmets and a weapon has also been recovered at the scene.’
Witnesses tweeted pictures of the jewellers filled with smoke after the incident.
Steve Ralfe posted: ‘Smash and grab at Regent Street jewellers. All three emergency services on scene, smoke deployed in the store.’
Siobhain Butterworth wrote: ‘Seems to have been an attempted robbery at Mappin & Web on Regent Street. Getaway vehicle appears to have been scooter.’
Crimes involving mopeds have exploded in London, and threaten to spread to other cities. In the 12 months to June, the Metropolitan Police recorded 16,158 thefts by people using mopeds – more than three times as many as the 5,145 reported between July 2015 and June 2016.
Thefts of scooters and mopeds by gangs to carry out street muggings have also doubled in the capital since 2013.
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