A ruthless gang used a stolen Range Rover to rip the gates off a jeweller shop before fleeing with £40,000 worth of gold and silver in a slick four minute raid.
Clayden & Co Jewellers, in the historic Arcade in Bognor Regis, was turned into a wreckage-strewn crime scene at 2.15am last Tuesday, after the thieves smashed their way inside in a brazenly executed ram-raid.
Disturbing CCTV footage shows the 4×4 inching into the centre of the arcade before two figures jump out, attach a rope to the back of the car and fix the other end to the shop’s steel grille.
The car then accelerates sharply, ripping the entire front security barrier off its fittings with such force that they broke the windows of the neighbouring shop.
Once inside, the burglars smashed through display cabinets and grabbed armfuls of gold and silver jewellery as well as cabinet of expensive watches and all the cash from the register.
Roger Claydon the shop’s owner told the Daily Mail: ‘The main shop window had been ripped away from the grille I’ve had for 33 years – never had a problem with it before. The whole thing had been pulled out like a concertina or piece of modern art.’
‘Inside, every cabinet had been smashed – five panes of glass in a row – plus the chimney cabinet. Everything had been emptied.’
Roger, who has run the shop for more than three decades, is adamant the gang knew exactly what they were doing.
Clayden & Co Jewellers, in the historic Arcade in Bognor Regis, was turned into a wreckage-strewn crime scene at 2.15am last Tuesday, after the thieves smashed their way inside in a brazenly executed ram-raid
The car then accelerates sharply, ripping the entire front security barrier off its fittings with such force that they broke the windows of the neighbouring shop
Once inside, the burglars smashed through display cabinets and grabbed armfuls of gold and silver jewellery as well as cabinet of expensive watches and all the cash from the register
Roger Claydon the shop’s owner told the Daily Mail: ‘ The main shop window had been ripped away from the grille I’ve had for 33 years – never had a problem with it before. The whole thing had been pulled out like a concertina or piece of modern art’
‘It was surreal standing there; I honestly felt like I was dreaming. In 33 years I’ve had the odd broken window, usually just local boys messing about, but nothing on this scale.
‘This was a proper, professional gang. They’d smashed through the gates at one end of the arcade, driven right up to my shop, put a rope around the grille and ripped it off using a stolen Range Rover. The whole thing only took four minutes.’
He believes at least two men carried out the smash-and-grab, with a possible third acting as lookout.
The thieves made off with around £40,000 worth of stock – gold chains, earrings, watches – along with a small amount of cash from the till.
But he fears it is unlikely to ever be recovered: ‘As for getting any of the jewellery back – I doubt it. In my experience, once jewellery is stolen, it disappears quickly.
‘There are plenty of people willing to buy second-hand or brand-new gold, no questions asked. I’d be amazed if any of it turns up again.’
Although he is holding onto a little hope after a ‘pool of blood’ was discovered at the scene suggesting that one of the thieves injured themselves in the incident. The blood has since been sent for testing.
Roger added: ‘The whole incident has shaken everyone in the arcade. The council is putting in a night-time security guard from 7pm to 7am because the grilles at both ends now need replacing and will take weeks to arrive – they cost about £10,000 each.
‘They’re even talking about adding bollards at the arcade entrances now. It’s a shame it’s come to this, but these gangs are powerful and clearly well-organised.’
He believes at least two men carried out the smash-and-grab, with a possible third acting as lookout. Pictured: The front of the shop with the metal gate torn off
The thieves made off with around £40,000 worth of stock – gold chains, earrings, watches – along with a small amount of cash from the till
Roger uses the shop to help fund a classical concert series he runs, 60 minutes of classical music, which are performed monthly in the area
Roger (right) is now having to get new grilles fitted that will be stronger to prevent this from ever happening agian
He is also racing to secure his own store: ‘I’m having a new, stronger grille fitted, the type that drops straight down so it can’t be pulled off by a rope again,’ he said.
‘I’ll also be keeping less gold in the shop and locking away the displays properly each night. It’s a shame – I’d only just set up a lovely display that weekend, and normally nothing ever happens on a Monday night in Bognor.
‘You never imagine someone will do a ram-raid in an enclosed arcade where the door is set back from the concourse, but they managed it.’
Sussex Police said: ‘Two men are believed to have forced entry into the premises and activated an intruder alarm inside a jewellery shop. Items worth thousands of pounds were stolen before the suspects left the area.’
Police are urging anyone with information to report online quoting serial 71 of 11/11.