Jury shown terrifying Sparkbrook ram-raid video from £300k jewellery shop heist

Terrifying ram-raid footage in which a pickup truck smashes into a jewellery shop in Birmingham has been shown to a jury as five men stand trial.

The footage of the heist at Danyaal Jewellers in Sparkbrook went 'viral' at the time of the £300,000 raid on March 3 last year.

It has now been shown to a jury at Birmingham Crown Court where five men stand trial for conspiring to rob the premises.

The mobile phone footage shows a white Toyota Hilux as it backs into the shop at speed for the second time.

It also captures the moment an axe-wielding man threatens witnesses.

A member of the public throws a bag at the vehicle before one of the suspects, dressed head to toe in black with his face covered and hood pulled up, runs up the street holding an axe repeatedly shouting "what" to witnesses observing the scenes.

The balaclava-clad robbers were seen reversing at speed into Danyaal Jewellers in Ladypool Road, shattering the glass. Credit: BPM Media

Moments later one witness can be heard asking whether anyone has called the police. At that point the axe man re-emerges, again repeatedly shouting "what" as he runs down the road in the direction he arrived.

At this stage the shop alarm can be heard in the background. A few seconds later the Hilux drives off with a piece of shop debris falling from its roof as it speeds away.

A black Land Rover Discovery follows closely behind with the rear registration plate falling off the back as it passes the shop.

Opening the case on Monday, prosecutor Benjamin Close said: "This is a case about an armed robbery to a jewellers on Ladypool Road in Birmingham on March 3 last year.

"It took place in a busy area, which you will know if you know it, in broad daylight at a little after midday. Jewellery stolen worth £300,000 remains missing.

"Footage was captured by members of the public on mobile phones and uploaded to the internet and went viral on social media.

"It follows nobody is going to disagree a robbery took place and five men physically participated in it. The Crown say those five men have been correctly identified as these five defendants who you are trying."

During the robbery, one man dressed all in black could be seen running down the street towards the store wielding an axe in his hand. Credit: BPM Media

He told the court the raiders used a Toyota Corolla and Land Rover Discovery to block both sides of Ladypool Road while the Toyota Hilux ram-raided the shop.

The prosecutor said the robbers abandoned the Corolla at the scene as they drove the other two vehicles to nearby King Street, where they left them behind and got into an Audi TT and BMW 420.

All cars involved were said to be stolen and on false registration plates.

The defendants are:

  • Justin Boylan, aged 51, of School Acre Road, Shard End

  • John Gourlay, aged 49, of Pershore Road, Selly Oak

  • Trevor Leek, aged 44, of Southgate Road, Birmingham

  • Hassan Zulfiqar, aged 26, of Kinver Croft, Birmingham

  • And his cousin Arfan Latif, 38, of the same road

All five have denied conspiracy to rob and two counts of possession of an offensive weapon - the axe and sledgehammers.

Gourlay has admitted an offence of theft for stealing the Toyota Hilux around a fortnight earlier, by taking the keys from the owner's locker at a gym on Kingsbury Road.

He has also accepted he committed fraud by using the owner's bank card in a Co-op shortly after, as well as converting criminal property by taking a gold bangle to the Jewellery Quarter where it was melted down, shortly after the robbery.

Leek denies a count of theft in relation to a motor vehicle.

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