Thieves armed with sledgehammers and an axe smashed their way into an award-winning Fife jewellers and stole £35,000 worth of stock.
Shop owner Jo-Ann Kinnear watched the shocking robbery on CCTV footage beamed to her mobile phone after being woken by her alarm company in the early hours of Saturday.
Rings, pendants, chains, earrings and bangles were stolen in the 2.20am raid after the three men smashed through the front door of Fennes Jewellery in Glenrothes and made off with the safe.
The dark-clothed robbers also smashed the Newark Road shop’s CCTV cameras before appearing to escape in a car.
The entire incident was over in just 10 minutes but Jo-Ann has been left counting the cost.
She said the items taken included an 18ct white gold diamond bubble ring worth £3,700 and a pair of Celtic stud earrings worth £145, along with a three-figure sum of cash.
“They were very organised,” she said.
“They knew they had 10 minutes to get in and out and they got all my high value pieces.”
Jo-Ann only opened her shop in Eastfield Business Park eight months ago after a number of years in the jewellery trade and was named specialist retailer of the year at the Fife Business Awards in February.
She had been asleep in bed when she received an alert from her alarm company.
“I can see on my camera who is in my shop and I could see them with their sledgehammers. One of them had an axe,” she said.
“I was just shaking. I can’t describe how I felt. It was horrible”
Jo-Ann joined the police at the premises and found the door and display cabinets smashed up and the safe wrenched from where it had been bolted to the floor.
She has now put the word out around jewellery contacts across Scotland urging them to watch out for anyone trying to sell her stolen stock.
“The police have been really good and I’m convinced these men are going to get caught,” she said.
Detective Inspector Paul Dick of Fife CID said the incident had caused significant disruption to the business and a thorough investigation was under way.
“As part of this we’d ask anyone who may have witnessed any suspicious behaviour, or any motorists or taxi drivers who were travelling in the area around this time and have dashcam footage, to contact us,” he added.
Mr Dick also urged anyone who had been offered any of the stolen items for sale to contact police on 101, or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
