Six robbers flee Regent Street jewellers raid on one moped

Six robbers fled on a single moped after a smash-and-grab raid at a high-end jewellers in central London.

The gang raided Mappin & Webb in Regent Street at about 19.20 BST, armed with a machete and a hammer, police said.

They arrived on three scooters but abandoned one at the scene and crashed another in nearby Oxford Street.

"All six" fled on the remaining moped, police said. An eyewitness told the BBC he saw three men on a single moped with a fourth "running alongside".

"Four men, one with a sledgehammer sticking out of his bag, were swerving around traffic heading towards Soho on two mopeds," the eyewitness said.

He added: "One of the mopeds must have clipped another vehicle as it crashed and came sliding towards the pavement.

"The two robbers then scrambled to get on the remaining moped, but one man ended up running along side with the public giving chase."

The robbers made off with a "high-value" haul after smashing cabinets at the store. No arrests have been made, police said.

A Met Police spokesman said following the Oxford Street crash "the suspects who were on that moped were then picked up before all six fled on a single remaining moped".

Mappin & Webb was founded in 1775 and customers have included Queen of France Marie Antoinette, Grace Kelly and Winston Churchill.