£20,000 raid on Shrewsbury jewellers

THIEVES STOLE up to £20,000 worth of jewellery from a Shrewsbury jewellers in a raid which bosses of the store believe was a professionally targeted attack.

The theft happened at Fabricius Green Fine Jewellers in High Street, Shrewsbury, just after noon yesterday. Bracelets, earrings and engagement rings were among the items stolen in the raid.

Three men and three women who were posing as foreign couples, were involved in the theft, the store's owners said today.

Peter Green, owner of the family run business, said the six people distracted two members of staff in the shop by speaking in Italian, French and Spanish before one of the couples broke a lock on a cabinet and emptied the jewellery into a handbag.

Mr Green said: "It was not a violent or threatening incident but we estimate that between £15,000 and £20,000 of jewellery has been stolen.

"Two couples came into the shop first and we think they were speaking in foreign languages to distract us. A fifth man then came in and began looking all around the store. We knew something wasn't right so we kept all the cabinets locked.

"They began to huddle in the corner while one of them went into another part of the L-shaped shop.

"I walked into the area where the man had gone and he had been joined by another woman. They came towards me so I couldn't look at the cabinets and the other four people quickly left the shop."

Mr Green said the incident had been caught on CCTV cameras.

Richard Ewels, a spokesman for West Mercia Police, said: "We are appealing to anyone with information or who may have seen the group in or around the jewellers at the time of the incident to contact police on 0300 333 3000."

By Sam Pinnington