A band of former special op soldiers has been recruited to protect London’s luxury jewellers after a dramatic rise in raids by thugs on mopeds.
The news comes as an unarmed hero seen confronting machete-wielding robbers outside a jewellers in Regent Street was revealed to be a former Iranian commando.
Fresh footage of Monday’s raid on Mappin & Webb shows the 35-year-old guard, known as Seyed, fighting back with his bare hands as the raiders storm the store.
The soldier is one of 16 undercover special forces experts working for security firm UK Protection, which is contracted to defend several luxury stores.
No arrests have been made and police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward
He told the Evening Standard: ‘The message to these guys is not to mess with us. We are highly trained, we are watching and we will get you. Do not come back.
‘I am highly trained, I was a commando and an officer, I am not scared of these people.’
He added: ‘I saw the guys about to break in and I raised the alarm sending the message “attack attack” to Mappin & Webb to make them aware.
‘I then ran towards the gang and took them on. One had a long sword he was waving at me and they were shouting threats.’
The audacious robbery saw the gang strike a branch of the upmarket jewellers 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.
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.
An unarmed hero seen confronting machete-wielding robbers outside a jewellers in Regent Street was revealed to be a former Iranian commando
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
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.’
DC Matt Hollands from the Met’s Flying Squad said: ‘We are following up a number of active leads on this live investigation.
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.
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
‘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.’
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.
Mappin & Webb was founded in 1775 and customers have included Queen of France Marie Antoinette, Grace Kelly and Winston Churchill