Masked gang rob Beaverbrooks jewellery store at Leeds White Rose Shopping Centre

  • An eyewitness caught the moment the gang raided the store

A masked gang armed with a range of tools carried out a brazen robbery at a jewellery store in full view of customers at a major shopping centre.

Police received multiple calls from 8.42pm on Wednesday about a robbery taking place at Beaverbrooks, at the White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds.

Five people in balaclavas had entered the shopping centre armed with weapons including a circular saw, baseball bats and a sledgehammer.

They damaged glass cabinets inside the store and escaped with several watches.

A member of staff had their hair pulled during the incident but was otherwise unharmed, police said.

The gang escaped with several watches.

Det Insp John Graham, of Leeds District CID, said: “This clearly planned and targeted robbery took place when the shopping centre was reasonably quiet, but I understand the huge concern that seeing these individuals armed with multiple weapons will have caused to those who were present.

“Thankfully, the staff member who was confronted by these robbers did not suffer any lasting injury, but this has been an extremely traumatic experience for them. Any use of weapons that causes people to fear violence is extremely serious."

A spokesperson for Beaverbrooks said the incident happened at its TAG Heuer boutique.

They added: "The boutique and adjacent Beaverbrooks store, which was unaffected, are both temporarily closed.

"We are doing everything possible to assist the police in their investigation as well as providing support for our colleagues at the boutique.

"We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused and would like to thank everyone involved for their support."

The White Rose Shopping Centre has more than 100 outlets and attracts hundreds of thousands of customers a year.

Witnesses and anyone with information should contact West Yorkshire Police via 101.

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