Moment bungling robber gets trapped inside London jewellery shop by auto-lock door

Robin de Peyer6 June 2019
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A robber was left trapped inside a jewellery store by the self-locking front door as his two accomplices fled with armfuls of gems.

The burly raider only escaped when an oblivious member of the public opened the door from the outside.

Police today issued clear CCTV of the raid on the shop in Green Lanes, Haringey, and appealed for people to identify the three thieves.

Footage shows one of the men, wearing a blue coat, dark cap and sunglasses, walk in and ask for a ring to be valued.

As an employee inspects it, the man puts a glove on one hand and lunges towards her, forces her into a headlock and drags her to the ground in a “terrifying” attack which police say left the woman in a state of shock.

The robbers turn to flee from the jewellery shop in Green Lanes in Haringey
METROPOLITAN POLICE SERVICE

Two accomplices — one in a bucket hat and sunglasses and the other in a woolly hat and hoodie — then storm in. They ransack shelves, grabbing trays of jewels from display cabinets as the staff member dashes to the back of the shop seeking refuge.

But the robbers seem unable to operate the trigger switch for the front door as they attempt to leave — trying in vain to force it open.

After one manages to flee, closing the door immediately behind him, CCTV shows the other two left behind and frantically trying to free themselves.

After more than half a minute, the second gets out as his accomplice hits the release trigger — but lets the door close behind him again to leave the third man still trapped inside.

Accomplice: one thief is caught clearly on CCTV as another steals jewellery
METROPOLITAN POLICE SERVICE

The final robber is left frantically banging on the door, only getting out when a member of the public inadvertently helps him escape by opening the door from the outside.

The raiders got away with tens of thousands of pounds of gold jewellery, mostly earrings and rings.

Detective Inspector Paul Ridley said: “How they were able to pull this off baffles me when you look at how chaotic they were. It could almost be funny if it were not for the violence involved and the seriousness of the offence.

“The last robber who was trapped in the shop was very lucky to escape because the alarm had been activated and the police were on their way. You can see how desperate he was and we missed him by only a few minutes.”

Police today appealed for information about the raid, which happened at 12.45am on Monday April 15.

Anyone with information should call 101, quoting CAD 3266 of Apr15, or tweet @MetCC.

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