Robbers target Ilfracombe jewellery store in daytime 'smash and grab' raid

• Credit: BPM Media

A jewellery shop in North Devon has been targeted in a daytime smash-and-grab raid by burglars.

Three men carried out the robbery at Harkers Jewellery in St James Place in Ilfracombe on the afternoon of Tuesday 26 October.

They smashed glass displays and windows before making off in a car.

The suspects are believed to have used firecrackers during the raid, which took place around midday.

An eyewitness, who was working in a shop nearby, said they heard a “loud bang” moments before the raid.

"I first heard a loud bang and I thought it was children playing with fireworks,” they said.

"I looked outside and found it was actually some men throwing firecrackers or something at the shop."

A black Audi, which has been linked to the robbery, was found abandoned shortly after the incident.

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said they believe the suspects travelled to the jewellery via Riverside Avenue.

“It is thought the vehicle travelled between the Riverside Avenue area of the town to the jewellers, travelling between Brookdale Avenue and Wilder road between 11.35am and 12.20pm,” a force spokesperson said.

“Police are urging people to check any CCTV or dashcam footage they may have covering anywhere along that route that may have captured the vehicle.

“Officers are continuing to make enquiries in order to locate the suspects.”