Hero tackles suspect to ground after moped knife gang raids London jeweller

THIS dramatic footage shows the shocking moment a gang carried out a smash and grab raid on a jewellers in central London today.

Stunned shoppers described seeing a gang of men armed with knives and hammers target Watches of Switzerland in Regent Street this morning.

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A plain clothed police officer is said to have wrestled one of the suspects - who fled on foot - to the ground.

Footage of the raid, recorded from across the road, showed the gang storming the luxury jewellers.

Three of the thugs were seen running out of the watch shop and jumping onto a moped, while one fled on foot and a fifth was wrestled to the ground by onlookers.

Adam Alabsia, a security guard at nearby Massimo Dutti, who was seen in the footage running towards the store, told the Sun Online: "I saw about five people running out of the store.

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“One guy ran down the street and was holding a blue bag and was dropping a few of the watches in the road.

"Three guys then got on a motorbike and sped off down Regent Street.

“They were all wearing helmets and were dressed in black. They were all men. One of the guys was waiting outside on a motorbike.

“This is three times we’ve seen it now. It’s happened three times in the last two months [on Regent Street]. It’s becoming quite common.”

Another witness said they saw one of the raiders waving a "massive knife" outside the store at frightened shoppers.

One witness, a cashier at Massimo Dutti, told the Sun Online: "There were guys breaking things in the shop and then there was a guy outside with a knife in his hand.

"We closed the doors and then they ran away. They were smashing everything inside and so we closed the door."

Shafa Khatun, manager of neighbouring J Crew, said: "We are used to it now. The police response was pretty good.

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"They are targeting the same store which is quite worrying. It happened a few months ago, and at a jewellery store across the road as well."

Eyewitness Adam Sturge, 37, was working on a construction site just yards from the terrifying raid and described seeing one of the gang carrying a "machete-type knife".

He told The Sun Online: “I was working in a first-floor office and saw there was a commotion going on outside.

“We must have caught the end of the robbery because I saw the six people desperately try and get away.

“One of them was holding a huge knife. It was like a machete.

“Two of them jumped on a moped and headed south and three others did the same thing but went north.

“The last one tried to sprint away but I think he was caught in the end.”

Mr Sturge, from Bedford, said people on the street even tried to stop the group from fleeing.

He added: “People on the street were incredibly brave. One delivery worker tried to stop them with his trolley and a van driver tried to park in the way of the gang.

“It lasted around 30 seconds and I knew it was a robbery, it didn’t even cross my mind that it was a terror attack.”

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Witness Rach Evans tweeted: "Six guys trying to break into watches of Switzerland. Staff on the doors of shops very swiftly got people in from the street.

"Some of the public managed to wrestle the guys to the ground." Police later confirmed this was a plain-clothed officer.

Pictures from the scene showed two motorbikes left behind by the gang. One was lying on Regent Street outside the store, while the other was inside the entrance to the jewellers.

Using a red scooter as a battering ram, they forced open the shop doors before ransacking the shop.

A number of weapons were recovered from the pavement outside, including a blade resembling a samurai sword.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed one man had been arrested in relation to the raid.

"It was reported that a number of suspects on scooters armed with knives and hammers entered the store and stole several items of property", a spokesman said.

"One male was arrested at the scene on suspicion of robbery.

";He has been taken to a central London police station. Inquiries continue to trace the outstanding suspects."

Scotland Yard said the raiders, armed with knives and hammers, forced their way into the store and stole "several items".

Staff were believed to be in the building hours after the attack, while the Met's Flying Squad investigated the scene.

At around 2.15pm forensics officers arrived at the shop and began examining the scene.

It is the third time in four months the jewellers has been targeted by moped thugs.

In March thieves armed with sledgehammers and samurai swords smashed their way into the store in nearby Oxford Street.

A month later the same shop was robbed again.

It comes after comedian Michael McIntyre was robbed by moped thugs who snatched his £15,000 watch.

The driver’s window of his Range Rover was smashed as he went to pick up his kids in North West London yesterday.

The shocking statistics behind London's crime epidemic

MOPED crimes are on the up with an average of over fifty being committed on a daily basis. Between January and September last year there were more than 19, 385 ‘moped enabled’ crimes in the capital including thefts and robberies.

London is proving to be a hot bed for the scooter attacks which have gone up 1,000 per cent in three years across the country.

The 19,000 attacks in 2017 have risen from just 1,053 in 2014, with the bikes themselves being stolen to use in the crimes.

Police figures from 2017 showed that around 1,500 mopeds or bikes were stolen in London every month – up to 18,000 a year.

There were 35 youth homicides - a rise of 35 per cent - and an increase of 30 per cent in muggings and 18 per cent in knife crime.

Muswell Hill has also become a hotspot for moped-enabled crime, with 159 such offences in the past five years, including 87 last year.

Motorcycles have been used in crimes such as phone snatches, gem store raids and acid attacks.

The poor security of these vehicles, coupled with their ability to easily mount curbs, is thought to be behind the surge in robberies.

Last month police revealed plans to change pursuit rules to help protect officers who go after suspects on bikes.

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