18/10/2010 - Have-a-go heroes tackle thieves
A broad daylight jewellery heist was foiled by a group of passers-by in London on October 15.
A gang of motorcycle robbers, who had used sledgehammers to smash into Ernest Jones on Kensington High Street, west London, were stopped by members of the public turning on them.
One of the riders was cornered and held by passers-by until police arrived on the scene, while the rest fled.
Officers were called at 10.40am after the five men on three bikes raided the jewellery store.
The boldness of this attempted theft could set alarm bells ringing for business owners to make sure their shop insurance is in order, as there isn't always a group of everyday heroes on standby.
IT worker Ryan Shipley, 23, saw three superbikes and five men dressed in black, with one riding and one armed with a sledgehammer, when he walked out of Tesco.
"The bikes mounted the pavement and the guys with the sledgehammers jumped off and started trying to smash the windows of Ernest Jones," he told the Evening Standard.
"A middle-aged builder in a high-vis jacket then pushed one of them and they had a stand-off but the robber threatened him with the sledgehammer to warn him off."
Meanwhile, passers-by began directing traffic to block the bikes, while the gang revved their engines and the hammer-wielders smashed the shop windows.
Mr Shipley said the last robber dropped his sledgehammer, took off his helmet, and ran off down the back streets, dropping jewellery as he escaped.
He said: "It was surreal, very odd. At first I thought it was some sort of stunt. It was really good how everyone chipped in."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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