By Eric King-
Armed robbers have stolen over £350,000 worth of Rolex and Omega products during a raid at a Leeds watch store, the company director has revealed.
Three balaclava-clad men armed with hammers, axes and a fire extinguisher smashed display cabinets at Watchfinder in County Arcade at Victoria Quarter and stole several items shortly after 10am on Monday. Company director Matthew Bowling said that it was mainly Rolex and Omega watches that had been stolen. He said: “Forty-seven watches were stolen with a value of around £350,000. “The most important thing is that nobody was hurt.” He added that the store would open up again as soon as possible. Mainly Rolex and Omega items were stolen.
The robbery is one of many that occur in the country from time to time where a gang of desperate youths organise a raid in a bid to earn quick cash. A witness, who did not wish to be named, spoke of her shock after seeing the armed men coming out of the shop as the getaway driver “panicked”. An Audi car was “unusually” parked on the pavement outside the centre, she said. A smashed and emptied cabinet. “We looked out and saw the car there.
The next thing you know there’s a guy with a crow bar. He had on gloves and a mask.” She said that the man and the driver then waited for another person to come out of the shop and get in the vehicle. “The driver was really panicking, he was horning at them to hurry up.” The witness said that a colleague saw one of the culprits with a fire extinguisher. “He took that from the store to get anyone off of him.
They all seemed very panicked. “It’s usually very quiet on a Monday, I think they expected it to be very quiet but outside the store it was quite busy, it felt like a weekend.” She said that the men fled at speed towards The Headrow. “It was a shock. It’s crazy. I stood there thinking ‘did that just happen?'” As forensics got underway in store, an officer guarded the shop while two police vans were present on Vicar Lane. Another police car was parked on Briggate