Dramatic footage showing a smash and grab raid on a designer jewellery shop in Hampstead has been released.
In CCTV video of the raid in the early hours last Saturday, a gang can be seen smashing through the door of boutique gems store Dinny Hall, in Hampstead High Street, before fleeing on a motorbike.
The shop’s CCTV footage shows two men wearing motorcycle helmets breaking into the store, smashing display cases, snatching jewellery and leaving a trail of broken glass and debris.
Dinny Hall said: “We are devastated. We are a small team and have worked incredibly hard to make our Hampstead store integrally part of the local retail community.
A spokeswoman for the boutique jewellery store, which counts singer Nicole Scherzinger and actress Kate Winslet among its customers, confirmed it is increasing security at the store first opened in December last year. The store will reopen this Saturday.
But Dinny Hall isn’t the only shop to be targeted by thieves in recent weeks.
The designer clothes shop, Linea, on Heath Street, was broken into in the early hours of the morning of September 24 and a gang stole £50-60,000 worth of clothes. Owner Moreno Ferraro said seven thieves carried out the raid in six minutes with the aid of a car and four mopeds, smashing the side window with a flower pot and cutting through the metal bars on the window.
And in August, hair salon Mad Lillies, also on Heath Street, was raided with £4,000 worth of hair products taken by thieves. Owner Karen Howell said the raiders levered out their back window to get in. She is now considering installing bars on the back window to prevent any further break-ins.
Police called a meeting on Monday to reassure shop owners and to discuss increased security measures in Hampstead.
At the meeting at the King William IV pub, Hampstead Town PCs Edward Bromilow and Saydul Safwan Karim promised to step up patrols and encouraged stores to sign up to the Shopwatch Radio scheme through which businesses can warn each other of thieves operating in the area.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here