Moment robbers caught with jewellery in pockets after £50k heist

Two men have been jailed after stealing £50,000 worth of jewellery from a shop and leaving a female employee fearing for her life.

Ints Dombroskis, 45, of Colley Avenue, and Hudo Ignats, 42, of Wilkinson Street, both in Barnsley, carried out the "horrifying attack" at PG Jewellery and Collectables on West End in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, at about 12:20 BST on Friday 30 May, armed with a long-handled axe.

Both men were jailed for seven years and four months at Lincoln Crown Court earlier, after Dombroskis pleaded guilty to robbery and Ignats pleaded guilty to theft of a shop, assault by beating and robbery.

The force said the female employee, in her 20s, was tied up in the shop and told officers "she thought she was going to die".

Hudo Ignats, left, and Ints Dombroskis have both been jailed for seven years and four months

Police said Ignats tied the shop keeper's hands and ankles together with tape and a bungee cord.

She was told "don't move or I will kill you" while he held a long-handled axe, police added.

The men grabbed watches, rings and necklaces from the display cabinets, stuffing them into black bags and into their pockets. They also stole a mobile phone, a bank card and £15 in cash.

Shortly after 12:30, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue were called to a report of a car on fire on Cranmore Lane, Holbeach, which they believed had been set on fire deliberately.

Number plates and charred clothing were found inside the partially burnt-out silver Vauxhall Astra, along with the phone stolen from the jewellers, police added.

'Terrified victim'

Investigations found the clothes matched those worn by the offenders and the Astra had travelled into the county with a black Honda Civic earlier in the day.

Armed officers found the men travelling in the Honda on the A17 near Holdingham roundabout, 37 miles (60km) from Holbeach and stopped them on the A1 near the Markham Moor junction in Nottinghamshire.

Police said they were still in possession of a long-handled axe and possibly other weapons that the two men had with them.

Both men were arrested for robbery and three gold chains were recovered from the pocket of Ignats and two black bags were found in the boot, which contained the stolen items from the store.

Investigating officer Det Con Katie Munroe said: "I cannot begin to comprehend how terrified our victim was, she showed huge courage on that day."

Sgt Lee Giles, operational firearms commander on the day, said: "This was a horrendous crime committed against a completely innocent member of our community merely going about her daily work."

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