'It was like something out of James Bond': Moment armed raiders rode through Brent Cross shopping centre after smashing their way into jeweller's shop with axes
- Four people riding three motorbikes entered Brent Cross Shopping Centre in north London shortly after 10.15am
- Witnesses said the men sped into an upper area of the shopping centre and headed for the Fraser Hart jewellery store
- They are believed to have taken Cartier and Rolex watches as well as other items of jewellery before speeding off
- Witnesses described how shoppers began to panic as the robbery took place, with many people running for the exits and others trapped in stores
By ANTHONY BOND
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This is the dramatic moment a gang of robbers armed with axes and bats rode through a busy shopping centre on motorbikes after raiding a jeweller's shop today.
Four people riding three motorbikes entered Brent Cross Shopping Centre, in north London, shortly after 10.15am.
Witnesses said the men sped into an upper area of the shopping centre and headed for the Fraser Hart jewellery store.
Dramatic: This is the moment robbers on motorcycles raided a shopping centre jeweller's shop armed with axes today
Raid: The gang reportedly stole hundreds of thousands of pounds of jewellery. This image shows the smashed window at the front of Fraser Hart
Damage: As well as taking jewellery, the gang also left a trail of destruction in the shopping centre
They are believed to have taken Cartier and Rolex watches as well as other items of jewellery before speeding off.
Witnesses described how shoppers began to panic as the robbery took place, with many people running for the exits. Some shops would not let customers leave while the incident was underway.
Michelle Webber, 36, was at the shopping centre when the robbery took place. She entered at the same entrance which the gang are believed to have used, close to John Lewis and New Look.
She said as she entered - about 10 minutes before the robbery took place - she heard a man behind her say: 'let the fun begin'.
Shortly afterwards she described how a wave of panic gripped the shopping centre.
'A man came running towards us shouting 'everybody out'.
'My first thought was that there was a bomb and I just started thinking about my children and my family, my stomach turned. People started running out of the stores in a panic.
Probe: Police officers and security guards from the shopping centre quickly closed off the crime scene as hundreds of shoppers looked on amazed
Shocked: Shoppers were left frightened after witnessing the robbery
Crime scene: A section of the shopping centre was closed off as the investigation into the robbery started
'There was a surge of people coming towards us. They were all running at the same time away from what was happening.
'All of a sudden the shutters started coming down in the shops around us and we realised that something serious had happened. I caught up with the guy who had been shouting and he said there were some guys upstairs on bikes with pickaxes who had broken into the jeweller's.'
Speaking to Barnet and Whetstone Press, Richard Treister, 48, said: 'It was like a Hollywood film.
'I would never have imagined someone would do that in a shopping centre. It was like a scene out of James Bond.'
Another eyewitness, Claire Smalley, told the BBC: 'We looked out and we saw six men, two on each bike so three bikes, pull up outside Fraser Hart and then they pulled out an axe and they were getting into Fraser Hart and telling everyone to stay back.'
Brazen: The gang, who rode into the centre on three motorbikes, left with a haul of watches and jewellery from Fraser Hart jewellery store
The dramatic raid happened just 15 minutes after the centre opened to members of the public.
There were no injuries, however, an elderly man was treated for shock at the scene.
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: 'No firearms were seen. The suspects fled the scene on the motorbikes in the direction of Hendon Central.
'The motorbikes were subsequently found abandoned a short time later at a nearby golf course.'
A spokesman for Brent Cross Shopping Centre said: 'We can confirm that there was an incident at the centre earlier this morning when there was an attempted robbery on a store at Brent Cross.
'The police have cordoned off a section of the centre to investigate the incident and we are assisting them with their enquiries.
'A small area is closed off to the public and Brent Cross staff are directing customers to alternative entrances. The majority of stores remain open as normal.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2228680/Brent-Cross-Moment-armed-raiders-rode-shopping-centre-smashing-way-jewellers.html#ixzz2BSowBpCm
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