FLEET Street robbers tunnelled into their way into the back a bookies basement before smashing through a wall to nick £1m in gems from an upmarket jewellers in a Hatton Garden-style raid.

They stripped cabinets in George Attenborough & Son on London’s Fleet Street, home of Victorian “demon barber” Sweeney Todd.

11 How the Hatton Garden-style raid at George Attenborough & Son happened

11 The burglars broke in via a hidden passageway linking the jeweller's with a William Hill bookies next door Credit: Jon Bond - The Sun

11 The gang appear to have forced their way into the back of a stairwell Credit: The sun - peter jordan

A source said of the Hatton Garden-style raid: “It was incredible planning.”

Flying Squad cops are hunting an “elite” gang who stripped a famous jeweller’s as thousands of fun runners jogged past.

The raiders tunnelled into George Attenborough & Son on London’s Fleet Street when it was shut at the weekend.

They broke in via a hidden passageway linking it with a William Hill bookies next door — and may have spent two days inside after drilling a hole in the wall.

The Sun can reveal pictures where the elite gang appear to have forced their way into the back of a stairwell at the basement.

A source said: “They got in what was thought to be a completely secure building - the planning must have been incredible.”

They added: "They’ve punched two big holes to get inside.

"They could have been in there all day Sunday then gone out the way they came in."

Police were only alerted at 2am on Monday — hours after 13,000-plus joggers, including celebs Amanda Holden and Cheryl Baker, strode past for Sunday’s London Landmark Half Marathon.

Many thousands more spectators packed the pavements with a nearby “cheer station” masking any noise the raiders may have made in the 176-year-old jeweller’s.

Diamond rings, bracelets, necklaces and pendants were stripped from display cabinets, with more than £1million worth of gems estimated to have been stolen.

11 More than £1million worth of gems were stripped from display cabinets

George Attenborough & Son's website lists jewellery worth more than a combined £3.3million - including four diamond rings valued £99,999 a £70,000 bracelet and £48,000 pendant and a £99,999 diamond encrusted Cartier watch.

Forensics teams were there on Tuesday while security footage was taken from the William Hill which was also shut all weekend.

The source added: “There’s only a handful of elite blaggers who would even attempt something like this. It’s so audacious but perfectly executed - it really is like something out of a heist movie.

“Using the cover of the marathon was a masterstroke.”



WHAT WITNESS SAW ON SUNDAY

George Attenborough & Son, which takes up the ground floor of a five-storey building, describes itself as “one of the final vestiges of Victorian England”.

A businessman working in rented offices above it said: “I came in at 10.45am on Sunday and didn’t see or hear anything.

“There have been a few suspicious people hanging around but it is central London and there was the half marathon on so the streets were busier than normal. But I did see a piece of paper lodged into the door frame which fell out when I opened it.

“I thought that looks a bit fishy now, like someone put it there to check if the door had been used.

“They’ve come on the William Hill side, it’s not clear exactly how. They could have been helping themselves all weekend as they are both closed.”

A local shop worker added: “Apparently they were in there on Saturday and Sunday and so the police wanted to see our CCTV.”

VICTORIAN ENGLAND OF FLEET STREET

A hidden passage runs between the jeweller’s and the bookies and behind The Old Bank of England pub on Fleet Street, once home to most of Britain’s national papers.

The Flying Squad detectives investigating the raid get their Sweeney (Todd) Cockney rhyming slang nickname from Fleet Street’s murderous Victorian barber.

Workmen on Tuesday arrived to carry out repairs at the jeweller’s which still boasts its original ­Victorian fittings.

Staff refused to comment as the shop stayed closed.

A spokesman for George Attenborough & Son told The Sun: “You seem to know more than we do.”

Like Hatton THE daring raid has sparked comparisons with the infamous Hatton Garden Heist — which took place just half a mile away in April 2015. Back then, a gang of ageing robbers ransacked the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company during the Easter holiday weekend. After breaking in through a lift shaft they used a drill to access the vaults then took up to £200million in jewels. Eight men have been jailed over the robbery — which is thought to be the biggest in English legal history.

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A Met spokesman said: “Police were called shortly before 2am on Monday, 25 March, to a report of a burglary at a jeweller’s in Fleet Street, EC4.

“A quantity of jewellery was stolen. Enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances. No arrests have been made.”

William Hill said: “We are helping police with their enquiries and have provided CCTV.”

11 Raided George Attenborough & Son jeweller's at 193 Fleet St, London

11 The address was the home of Victorian 'demon barber' Sweeney Todd Credit: Jon Bond - The Sun

11 The jeweller's describes itself as 'one of the final vestiges of Victorian England' Credit: Jon Bond - The Sun

11 Both George Attenborough & Son and William Hill were shut all weekend Credit: Jon Bond - The Sun

11 The raiders may have spent two days inside after drilling a hole in the wall Credit: Jon Bond - The Sun

11 Forensics teams on Fleet Street as cops took CCTV footage from the bookies Credit: Jon Bond - The Sun

11 Amanda Holden was among 13,000-plus runners who jogged past the raid during Sunday’s London Landmark Half Marathon Credit: WENN

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