These are the CCTV images a Shrewsbury jeweller says show members of a gang believed to be responsible for stealing more than £16,000 worth of jewellery from his shop.

These are the CCTV images a Shrewsbury jeweller says show members of a gang believed to be responsible for stealing more than £16,000 worth of jewellery from his shop.

Footage exclusively given to the Shropshire Star clearly reveals images of a number of the people understood to be responsible for the theft, which took place at Fabricious Green fine jewellers, in High Street, earlier this week.

Six people are believed to have been involved in the alleged incident, which happened just before noon on Tuesday, including three men and three women who were alleged to have been posing as foreign couples.

Peter Green, owner of the family-run business, today renewed his public appeal to anyone who may recognise the individuals from the CCTV pictures to contact police.

He said: “The six people we believe are involved entered in pairs and separately.

“At the time I thought the cabinet was still locked, but I knew they had tried to get into it. It was only when they left I realised they had forced open the door.”

Mr Green said 11 items of jewellery were stolen, including bracelets, earrings and engagement rings, worth a total of more than £16,500.

Members of staff were distracted by the couples who were speaking in Italian, French and Spanish, before one of the couples is believed to have broken a lock on a cabinet with a screwdriver and emptied the jewellery into a handbag.

Mr Green has sent the images to the Safer Gem Partnership to warn other jewellers across the UK about the incident.

He added: “We very much hope they will be found and our jewellery recovered. We want to hear from anybody who saw them enter or leave the shop or saw them communicate with other people.

“We also want to know if anyone has a description of their car or has been offered jewellery matching our description.”

Richard Ewels, spokesman for West Mercia Police, said: “We are following up a number of leads and the police investigation continues.

“We will be looking at any CCTV which might help and we are appealing to anyone with information to contact police on 0300 333 3000.”

By Sam Pinnington