SHOCKING video reveals how two robbers stole a £700 gold bracelet – as a shop assistant served them.
One of crafty crooks pocketed the gold bracelet whilst the other distracted the shop assistant in a sleight of hand theft which is extremely difficult to spot.
The robbers are believed to be a man and a woman who has a tattoo on her right hand and gold teeth.
Peridot Jewellers in St Leonards, Sussex, posted CCTV footage of the incident on Facebook in a bid to raise awareness on thieving con artists and to try catch the robbers responsible.
Following the incident on Saturday, Peridot Jewellers posted: “Warning thieves stole a £700 gold bracelet from us on Saturday! She had gold teeth, very interested in any names put forward! Please share people.”
A later post said: “Watch the quick hands of the thieves who stole a bracelet from us on Saturday!”
The video shows the man and the woman looking at a display of bracelets hanging on a rack whilst the shop assistant shows them each bracelet upon request.
The woman and the man can be seen handing the interested bracelets over to the shop assistant for her to explain.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the woman slides a bracelet off the rack and puts it in her left palm whilst the man distracts the shop assistant.
The woman then puts what is believed to be her black wallet on top of the bracelet, whilst the man continues to engage in conversation with the shop assistant.
Only when the video is seen in slow motion and zoomed in does it become clear how the crooks were able to pull off the theft.
The video has left many local residents angry.
Rachael Williams said: “Disgusting, they are so lovely in the jewellers. Hope she gets caught, karma.”
Paul Pace added: “Oh no that’s terrible favourite all-time jewellers been going there for years horrible to see. Feel sorry for the staff.”
Claire Annette Duffie wrote: “It’s just so awful. Really sad that it is a good, family business that has been hit.”
Rachel Rawles said: “I really feel for the women serving her. It’s a horrible feeling knowing that someone has duped you like this. I hope she’s ok and the perpetrator is caught.”
Kelly Nash added: “What’s wrong with people, you are all working hard to keep your business open and so you can all pay your bills and these scum think it’s okay to steal. Vile creatures. I hope they get caught.”
Speaking today, shop owner Matt Johnson said he wants to raise awareness of these kinds of thefts.
He said: “It has been done before, and we put CCTV footage out on social media and I got a name of the person who did it within hours. If it can help educate and highlight to people how this sort of crime is done then that is helpful.”
Matt said they only noticed the bracelet was stolen after someone bought the item on their own eBay page.
Matt said: “We only realised it was stolen after it was bought on our eBay page Saturday night. We tried to look for it so we could set it aside for the buyer, and that’s when we realised it had been stolen.”
The 46-year-old also said the partners in crime were very approachable in the store.
He added: “They initially looked at the earrings and then side tracked to the bracelets. They were friendly and easy to chat to.
“They asked ‘do you take euros?’ We said no and at which point they replied ‘we’ll be back in a minute.’
“We are just a small family business struggling to pay bills and cautious about everything going on with Brexit, this was the last thing we needed.”
Peridot Jewellers has been trading as a family run business for 26 years, and the shop has been established as a jewellers since 1872.
Police have confirmed they are looking for specific suspects in the investigation, including a woman with a gold tooth.
A spokesman for Sussex Police said: “At 7.30pm on Wednesaday (20 March) we received a report that four days earlier, at 3pm on Saturday (16 March) a couple entered Peridot jewellers in London Rd, St Leonards, and stole a 9carat gold bracelet, valued at £700.
“The suspects are described as a woman, 5’2″, late 30’s, of mediterranean appearance, with black hair, brown eyes, gold tooth, and a tattoo of a cross on her right hand, and a man in his 40’s, 5’8”, also of mediterranean appearance, with black short hair, receding hairline, brown eyes, and stubble on face.
“Anyone with information can contact police online at or by calling 101, quoting serial 1264 of 20/03.”
