Caught on CCTV: Axe-wielding robbers in boilersuits carry out daytime raid on town centre jewellers - until staff put the shutters down

Four-man gang struck at lunchtime on Thursday in Ilkley, West Yorkshire



The getaway car was driven by a fifth gang member and was later dumped



Witness: Thieves used an axe to threaten a police officer who approached



Police spokesman said robbers took 'a number of watches' before escape



This dramatic footage shows a gang of axe-wielding raiders executing a daytime smash and grab raid at a jewellers .



Dressed in blue boiler suits and black balaclavas at least two members of the gang can clearly be seen attacking the shop window with axes while the others push in the protective glass, before escaping with number of watches.



As an alarm sounds in the background one bemused shopper can be spotted milling near the four-man gang as they struck Lister Horsfall jewellers in Ilkley, West Yorkshire at lunchtime on Thursday.

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This dramatic footage shows a gang of axe-wielding raiders executing a daytime smash and grab raid at a jewellers

According to a witness, at one point one of the thieves used an axe to threaten a police officer who approached the scene.

The gang then sped off in a silver Honda Civic, which had been driven on to the pavement in front of the jewellers, narrowly missing a car and pedestrians.



The getaway car, which was driven by a fifth gang member, was quickly abandoned and set alight in a nearby street.

According to a witness, at one point one of the thieves used an axe to threaten a police officer who approached the scene

The men raiding the Lister Horsfall jewellers in Ilkley, West Yorkshire

Lister Horsfall's managing director Nicholas Horsfall praised the actions of his staff who stopped the robbers escaping with a big haul by activating the security shutters

One witness said: 'It really shook me up. 'They were wearing blue jumpsuits and they had black coverings over their heads.'



Lister Horsfall’s managing director Nicholas Horsfall praised the actions of his staff who stopped the robbers escaping with a big haul by activating the security shutters.



He said: 'I don’t think they managed to get away with a lot.



'The quick thinking of the staff managed to avert a major loss. The shutters went down, the blinds went down and they were stripping the stock from behind the window to stop it being taken.'



He said the staff on duty were uninjured but were shaken by the incident.



The gang then sped off in a silver Honda Civic, which had been driven on to the pavement

The getaway car, which was driven by a fifth gang member, was quickly abandoned and set alight in a nearby street

It is the third time in two years the jewellers has been targetted by armed robbers - it was previously raided in June 2012 and September 2011.



A West Yorkshire police spokesman said robbers took 'a number of watches' before making off.

