Pilot street, where the gang dumped the getaway car

A cobbled Medieval backstreet in King’s Lynn is now at the centre of an investigation into an armed robbery at a nearby jewellery shop, it emerged last night.

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Detectives have issued an urgent appeal for information from anyone who was in or around Pilot Street, behind St Nicholas’ Chapel, on Tuesday morning.

The street was where a silver Mercedes was abandoned by an armed gang following a raid at the Francis Wain store in Norfolk Street just before 10am.

Last night, Det Insp Stuart Chapman, from Lynn CID, said: “We have got lots of witnesses telling us what happened when the offence was being carried out but what we really need to establish now is what happened when they abandoned the vehicle in Pilot Street.

“We need people to tell us what they did next once they got out the vehicle. Did they get into another vehicle and if so, what car was it, what was the registration plate and which direction did it go?

“Or did they get out the vehicle and make their way on foot? Again did anyone see where they went?

“These are the questions we really need the public to answer help us in our investigation. We have carried out some house-to-house enquiries on this and still have some more to do.”

He added: “We are also still interested in information about a silver coloured BMW that we believe to be a 3-series model which may have assisted the offending vehicle.”

Det Insp Chapman confirmed the silver Mercedes people carrier was a stolen vehicle and was stolen from outside of Norfolk but he couldn’t confirm if the gang were local or from outside the county. He also said that he wasn’t linking the robbery to any other crime across the region at the moment but was keeping an “open mind”.

He continued: “We are still currently looking at a lot CCTV footage not just at the time of the robbery but prior and just after it.”

Police have previously said one of the men was carrying a handgun during the robbery but have yet to reveal what was taken from the store.

The broken windows at Francis Wain have been replaced and staff are now working out exactly what was stolen but the shutters remained in place yesterday as the shop remained closed.

On Wednesday, Chief Insp Ady Porter sought to reassure residents and businesses following the raid by saying it was a “very unusual” event “not only for King’s Lynn but for the whole of Norfolk”.

Police have issued a description of two of the men they are hunting. The first man is 6ft, slim, with a grey two piece tracksuit and hood, with a white scarf covering his face.

The second male is described as 5ft 8ins to 5ft 10ins, of average build, wearing a black long sleeved hoodie, with a grey short sleeved T-shirt over the top. He was also wearing black trainers with white soles and was carrying a small JD sports bag.

Information should be given to officers by phoning 101.