Jeweller tells of moment he wrestled hammer-wielding raider during robbery of thousands of pounds worth of Rolex and Cartier watches
- David Mellor, 62, fought with robbers who stole watches from his shop
- He wrestled with the intruders despite having hip and knee replacements
- Tom White, 26, and Luke Peverall, 24, targeted the shop on September 8
- They have both been jailed for up to five years at Winchester Crown Court
- Mr Mellor said his staff were now 'twitchy' following incident in Andover
A jeweller has spoken of the moment he grappled with a hammer-wielding thief who stole thousands of pounds worth of Rolex and Cartier watches from his shop.
David Mellor, 62, was thrown to the pavement as he tried to stop the man escaping with his accomplice on the back of a motorbike.
The men pulled up outside the David Mellor Jewellery shop in Andover, Hampshire and began smashing the glass cabinets with a claw hammer.
Jeweller David Mellor, 62, bravely confronted the armed robber who smashed his glass display with a hammer
Luke Peverall, 24 (left) waited by the doorway on a motorbike, while Tom White, 26, (right) bashed in the glass display and filled a rucksack with expensive watches from the David Mellor Jewellery Shop in Andover
Tom White, 26, bashed in the glass display filled with expensive watches and grabbed a Rolex, a Cartier 18-carat white gold watch and a Cartier Roadster.
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He threw them into a rucksack while his accomplice Luke Peverall, 24, waited by the doorway on the bike.
Mr Mellor, dressed in a white short sleeved shirt, tried to tackle the armed robbers and snatched the bag.
Despite his efforts, the intruders sped off on the motorbike following the incident on September 8.
The intruder broke into the store and targeted 18 watches worth thousands of pounds
Tom White bashed in the glass display filled with expensive watches and grabbed a Rolex, a Cartier 18-carat white gold watch and a Cartier Roadster. His accomplice Luke Peverall waited by the doorway on the bike
The robbers were later caught by police and have been jailed for up for five years each at Winchester Crown Court.
Mr Mellor, who took the intruders on despite having hip and knee replacements, said he and his staff have been left scared following the attack.
Full-time security has now been rolled out at all three of his jewellery shops.
Mr Mellor said: 'Every time a motorbike or a car goes up the road my heart goes into my mouth thinking that it is going to happen again.
'My staff are twitchy now - they are very nervous, like a cat on a hot tin roof.
'Every time something goes up the street they are looking to see what it is.'
The courageous shop owner was thrown to the ground after he took on the armed intruders on September 8
Prosecutor Kerry Maylin said the raid targeted 18 watches and the pair had visited Mr Mellor's stores two days earlier.
Peverall and White were arrested in Reading, Berkshire, after police linked a phone found in the bag left behind at the scene to them.
Recorder of Winchester Judge Keith Cutler handed Peverall, of no fixed abode, and White, from Iver, in Buckinghamshire, five years in jail each.
They both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob.
Judge Cutler said: 'I want you to know that shops will have the protection of the courts.
'Mr Mellor came to see what was going on then there was a struggle in which he was injured.
'This is the risk with carrying out the sort of criminal activity that you were intending on.
'There was a very high risk that someone would be hurt and indeed someone was and that was Mr Mellor.'
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