This is the shocking moment a gang of armed thugs burst into a jewellers and battered a shop worker with a hammer during an audacious £250,000 heist.

Dramatic CCTV shows the robbers storming into the store in broad daylight after one of them posed as a customer in order to trick staff into opening the door.

The five masked yobs then rushed into the SP Green in Birmingham's historic Jewellery Quarter and start pocketing items worth thousands from display cabinets.

Gang member Owen Richardson,21, can be seen violently lashing out with the hammer as he repeatedly attacks a member of staff, who cowers on the floor.

This is the shocking moment a gang of armed thugs burst into a jewellers and battered a shop worker with a hammer during an audacious £250,000 heist

Jermaine Davis (left) and Owen Richardson (right) have been jailed after they stormed into a jewellery store in broad daylight and pocketed items worth thousands of pounds

Bradley Devine (left) and Daijon Johnson (right) were also part of the gang. They ransacked the store while the shop worker was repeatedly stamped on

Daijon Johnson and Jamul Pinnock-Parkes, both 20, ransack the store, while the shop worker is repeatedly stamped on by Richardson.

He then turns his attentions to another member of staff as she triggers a smoke shield moments before the gang tries to escape.

Pinnock-Parkes, Johnson and a 17-year-old youth who tried and failed to get into the shop, were arrested after fleeing and calling for a taxi.

Their driver became suspicious when the passengers hid their faces and bent down to avoid being seen, prompting him to reverse up to a police car which was on the lookout for the robbers.

The men fled but were arrested at the scene following the brazen raid at 12..30pm on January 6 last year.

Richardson and getaway driver Jermaine Davis, 27, were arrested the following day in a Renault Megane seen at the time of the raid.

The gang was convicted at Birmingham Crown Court after CCTV cameras around the city captured their movements before and after the raid.

Richardson, of Newtown, Birmingham, was jailed for 14 years on Tuesday for conspiracy to rob and possession of class A drugs with intent to supply.

Jamul Pinnock-Parkes was also part of the gang. He was arrested after fleeing and calling for a taxi

Devine was captured on CCTV posing as a customer in order to trick staff into opening the door of the jewellery store in Birmingham

Terrifying footage shows one of the masked raiders bursting into the store before shop worker was brutally attacked with a hammer

A member of staff triggered a smoke shield moments before the gang tried to escape. CCTV captured the gang in the area before and after the raid

He denied the conspiracy charge, but was convicted after a jury spent just 11 minutes deliberating.

Johnson, of Ladywood, Birmingham, admitted conspiracy to rob, and an unrelated robbery, and was caged for 12 years and eight months.

Pinnock-Parkes, of Selly Park, Birmingham, admitted conspiracy to rob and was sentenced to nine years and 10 months in jail.

Davis, of Edgbaston, Birmingham, admitted conspiracy to rob and possession with intent to supply and escaping from lawful custody.

He was jailed for 14 years and 11 months.

Richardson repeatedly stamped on one member of staff before leaping over the counter to confront his colleague after she had triggered a smoke alarm

The gang ransacked the store, eventually making off with £250,000. Only £12,000 has since been recovered

Bradley Devine, 25, of Birmingham, who posed as the customer to allow the gang access, was jailed for 10 years in May last year after admitting conspiracy to rob and other offences.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will be sentenced on December 15 and has admitted conspiracy rob.

West Midlands Police said although £250,000 of jewellery was taken, only £12,000 worth has since been recovered.

Detective Constable Mark Timmins, who led the investigation, said after the case: 'This was a really nasty robbery targeting a business in the heart of the Jewellery Quarter.

The shop worker was forced to cower behind the counter after vicious Owen Richardson lashed out at him with a hammer

The gang then fled with their takings. West Midlands Police said although £250,000 of jewellery was taken, only £12,000 worth has since been recovered

'Despite the gang members being disguised, we have used CCTV from around the city to ensure they have been brought to justice.

'The member of staff who was hit with the hammer was left really shaken and it's by sheer luck that he wasn't really seriously injured.

'Businesses in the area can rest assure that we will always fully investigate these crimes.

'This robbery had a considerable amount of planning, and if anyone has concerns about people acting suspiciously in the Jewellery Quarter, they can always speak to us.'