Shocking moment sledge-hammer wielding thieves steal tens of thousands worth of Rolexes in just 20 seconds

DRAMATIC video shows the moment a gang of sledgehammer-wielding Rolex Rippers smashed through a jewellers in just 20 seconds - forcing rush hour commuters to cower for cover.

Passersby watched in horror as three men dressed all in black donning balaclavas and gloves battered through the shop window at 5.10pm on Monday.

CCTV showed them running towards Antony James Jewellers, repeatedly hitting the security glass and snatching the valuable timepieces before running away just 20 seconds later.

Staff at the shop in Kingston upon Thames, south west London, hit the panic button causing the shutter to come down and alarms to blare out.

Police arrived within a minute but the thugs managed to escape with two Rolex Datejust 36s - worth £6,995 and £5,500 - a £7,995 Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41 and a £1,500 Ebel.

An eyewitness said: “It felt like an earthquake and like the ceiling was going to come down. They must have smashed the security glass about 20 times.

“There was a blind customer inside the shop who said he could feel the vibrations. He was crying his eyes out and didn’t want to go home as he feared being followed.

“Everyone was really shaken up. People were standing outside watching and running for safety. One guy tried to help but realised there was nothing anyone could do.

“It was clearly well planned and executed. They knew exactly what they were going for and where the expensive watches were kept. But it was lucky they couldn’t grab the £30k Rolex.

“Hopefully the police can catch them as luxury watch crime in London is getting out of hand. They’re a great investment but people need to be careful as they can come at a cost.”

More than £50million worth of luxury watches were stolen in the Capital in 6,000 incidents throughout 2022, according to FOI figures.

Forensics were at the scene of the most recent hit on Tuesday along with violent crime detectives from the elite Flying Squad.

A Met Police spokeswoman said: “Police were called to a business premise on Fife Road, Kingston at about 5.20pm on Monday, January 8, following reports of a burglary.

“It was reported that three men wearing balaclavas and armed with hammers forced entry into the premises before stealing a number of watches.

“Officers attended. No one was injured as a result of the burglary. At this early stage no arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing.”