'They know they can get away with it': London jewellers on edge after daytime thefts as police counters face closure

Shopkeepers in south-west London say they are "terrified" following the theft, which showed two masked men wielding sledgehammers breaking the windows of a jewellery shop on January 31.

Footage of the brazen raid showed workers attempting to fight them off from inside at Gregory and Co at around 10.30am.

The pair ran away afterwards, and no arrests have been made.

The raid comes as the shop's closest police front desk, located more than two miles away at Twickenham Police Station, faces closure at the end of this month.

The move will leave Richmond without a single police front desk across the borough despite Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan repeatedly pledging to keep at least one 24-hour front desk open in each of the capital's boroughs.

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Budget cuts mean just two police desks in London will operate for 24 hours a day, at stations in Lewisham and Charing Cross.

And for Gregory and Co, the distance to the nearest police front desk in Hammersmith will double.

The Metropolitan Police says it took 11 minutes for officers to arrive at Gregory and Co on Saturday morning following a 999 call made at 10.34am.

But local business owners are calling for a greater police presence in the area.

Chris, who runs a neighbouring jewellers in Richmond, told LBC that the affluence of the area, combined with a lack of police presence, makes it attractive for burglars: "They know they can get away with it."

Fearing his shop could be targeted for a fourth time, Chris asked us not to name his business.

He also confirmed that he had extra safety measures in place after being burgled multiple times.

"We have a double glass system, so very secure glass. And obviously I don't want to name what we've got, but we've got other things in place that will deter and probably stop people from doing it."

He explains that burglars target jewellers during the day because stock isn't left on display in the windows overnight.

It means staff are often in jewellery shops while they're under siege:

"[It's terrifying] as it's going on, because you just don't know how it's going to escalate. But there's nothing you can do about it," he said.

Lorenzo Ali runs a cobbler's shop on Paved Court, a few doors down from Gregory and Co, and witnessed the suspects in Saturday's burglary flee the scene.

"It's terrifying," he told LBC.

"Especially to the ladies and the jewellery shops around here because, you know, nobody's going to break into a shoe shop to take anything."

"That's what worries me, because when it affects somebody sitting next to me, somehow it affects me as well. And I've known them for years. We are a little community. So it's frustrating to see something like that happen to my neighbour."

Mick Smith, a local window cleaner, says there's been a significant drop-off in the number of officers he sees in the area, claiming thieves "just get away with it nowadays."

"There's no police station in Richmond anymore, so by the time any police are going to get here from Twickenham, they've gone. That's it."

At the end of last year, Richmond Council said it was planning legal action over the decision to close the front counter at Twickenham Police Station.

The Met announced it was closing 10 police station front desks earlier last year. A total of 27 front counters will remain open across the capital, down from 37, in a move expected to save the Met roughly £7 million.

The cost-cutting measure is part of £260 million worth of savings the force said it needs to make by reducing services and slashing around 1,700 officer and staff roles.

The smash-and-grab in Richmond is the latest in a spate of crimes across the capital.

Last month, armed robbers wielding a machete smashed their way into a Rolex shop in Knightsbridge, stealing several high-value watches.

Tom Cruise, who owns a £35m flat in the building above the shop, has reportedly moved out following the incident, saying that he no longer feels London is safe to live in.

A few days later, there was a sledgehammer raid on a jeweller's in Shepherd's Bush.

Sultan Jewellers in Uxbridge Road was attacked by several men who smashed the shop's windows with a sledgehammer before fleeing with expensive jewellery.

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London, said: “This incident is appalling and has no place on our streets. The police is taking all necessary action to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

“The Mayor is working closely with the Met Commissioner to revitalise neighbourhood policing and ensure officers are visible on our high streets and in our communities. This action has led to significant falls in personal robbery, theft, violence with injury and fewer neighbourhood crime offences.

“But there is more to do and Sadiq is providing record funding for the Met for more specialist proactive teams and tech as we continue to build a safer London for everyone.”

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “Our work to close the Met’s £260 million funding gap while prioritising frontline policing continues.

“In October, we released details of changes to how our front counters operate, by keeping 27 front counters open, and closing the other ten. Five of these counters were already operating at reduced hours.

“Following months of engagement with partners, stakeholders and Trade Unions, the ten front counters to close will do so on Saturday February 28.

From Tuesday March 3, 25 counters will be operating extended hours and two will remain 24/7.

“The closures form part of a number of tough choices the Met is having to make in order to operate within a shrinking budget while tackling neighbourhood crime and ensuring communities see a more visible police presence.”