Five men found guilty of £300k raid on Sparkbrook jewellery shop

Terrifying ram-raid footage shows a pickup truck smashing into a jewellery shop

Five men have been found guilty of carrying out a raid of almost £300,000 on a jewellery shop in Birmingham.

The attack happened in broad daylight with the public filming the incident and uploading it to social media.

A stolen Toyota Hilux was driven twice into the front of the shop on Ladypool Road, sending glass cabinets flying and only missing the business owner's head by 'a matter of inches.'

Three men armed with sledgehammers then went into and began stashing jewellery in bags, while a fourth man remained in the car, and a fifth acted as 'crowd control' waving an axe at witnesses.

Following at trial, a jury at Birmingham Crown Court found the following all guilty of conspiracy to rob and having an offensive weapon:

• 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

Leek was cleared of theft of a motor vehicle.

Gourlay had previously admitted theft of a motor vehicle, fraud and converting criminal property. Sentencing was adjourned until March 13.

Benjamin Close, prosecuting, said Danyaal Jewellers in Sparkbrook, was targeted by robbers on Thursday, March 3, last year.

He said: "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 value approaching £300,000 which remains missing.

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

He said a number of stolen vehicles on false plates were used during the robbery including a Toyota Hilux as well as a Land Rover Discovery and Toyota Corolla which were used to block off Ladypool Road, the latter vehicle being abandoned at the scene.

Gourlay had admitted stealing the Hilux from outside a gym on Kingsbury Road, Birmingham on February 22 last year - less than a fortnight before the robbery - by taking the keys from the owner's locker.

He had also used the owner's bank card in a Co-op shortly afterwards.

He had also driven to the Jewellery Quarter immediately after the robbery and sold a stolen gold bangle which has since been melted down.

The trial was also told Zulfiqar was caught on CCTV driving the stolen Audi TT and purchasing adhesive pads used to fix the false number plates.

While police found tags from stolen jewellery on the sofa at Boylan's home after the raid.