Police officer seriously hurt after armed thieves attempt raid on Piccadilly watch store

Foiled: The Flying Squad thwarted the armed robbery
‏@Mick7777Francis
Jamie Micklethwaite4 August 2016
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A police officer has been seriously injured after a gang of armed moped thieves targeted a luxury watch store in central London during an attempted smash and grab raid.

Scotland Yard said one officer was taken to hospital in a serious condition while three others received minor injuries when the raiders attempted to flee the Chronext store on Piccadilly.

Stunned witnesses watched as Flying Squad officers tackled the thieves onto the street with weapons including knives and an axe left on the floor.

Police descended on the luxury watch store shortly before 11.30am as part of an intelligence led sting.

Four men were arrested on suspicion of robbery and have been taken to central London police stations.

Machete: Witnesses saw weapons on the floor
‏@Mick7777Francis

One of the men has since been taken to hospital after he became unwell after he was booked into custody.

Detective Superintendent Craig Turner, said: "Our officers are absolutely committed to keeping London safe and target the criminals who pose a danger to Londoners and our city businesses day in, day out.

"They know that this work carries with it very real risks and dangers but take this in their stride as part of serving the public.

“However, today's events highlight how the reckless behaviour of those determined to evade justice, heedless of the consequences, can have a real impact on all those involved."

Machete: Shocked witnesses saw weapons lying on the floor
TfL

An axe, knives and the stolen jewellery were all recovered at the scene.

The sales manager of a luxury watch store spoke of the moment the gang of armed moped thieves targeted the shop.

The store's UK sales manager told the Standard they had been warned by the Flying Squad prior to the raid.

The man, who did not wish to be named said: “It was an attempted smash and grab but they got away nothing.

“We had a member of our security team on hand and it went very smoothly.

“We were all on site so it was myself and my colleagues with members of the Flying Squad so we knew exactly what was going on and it was done and dusted very quickly."

The manager added that the suspects were apprehended quickly after trying to get away with watches from a cabinet.

He added: “They didn’t ask for anything, they just smashed the first cabinet in sight and tried to get away with anything they could get their hands on.

“There’s only a small bit of damage and we should have that fixed by the end of the week.”

Enquiries into the attempted robbery are continuing.

Piccadilly was closed eastbound from White Horse Street while the incident was dealt with.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in