Thieves chisel through brick wall of Lowestoft pawnbrokers to steal £14,500 of jewellery

Donald Gray in front of The Goldmine, which was targeted by thieves. Picture: James Bass (Image: Archant Norfolk © 2016)

There are believed to have been two or three thieves, who first broke into an area behind a neighbouring pet shop on Bevan Street in Lowestoft.

Then, they spent about an hour chiselling through a solid brick wall to get into The Goldmine jewellers and pawnbrokers.

Once inside, they stole trays of gold chains, charms and pendants, smashing cabinets and display units before triggering a smoke screen.

When smoke filled the shop, the thieves, who had their faces covered, left through the hole in the brick.

Owner Donald Gray said: 'If the smoke screen hadn't gone off, they'd have cleared me out.'

Mr Gray, who has no insurance for the business, has also had to fork out £2,500 to repair smashed showcases in the shop, install a new, state of the art sensor alarm and board the hole up with steel.

'It's happened once, but it won't happen again,' he said.

'I'm gutted. I can't believe it, the whole thing took an hour but nobody heard them.

'We've been here for 13 years and we've never had any trouble before.'

Among the items stolen during the raid was a gold necklace with an amber pendant, and a distinctive necklace with alternating pearls and gold rings.

It happened at about 3am on Tuesday, July 5.

•Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call Lowestoft CID on 101, quoting crime number 37/42585/16.

Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.