People power! Brave townsfolk foil robbery attempt of raiders who were armed with claw hammers and a knife

When the townspeople of Louth saw these fearsome jewellery shop robbers, they weren't about to stand by and allow them a clean getaway.

The two armed raiders had robbed the store in broad daylight - but were foiled by determined residents who stopped them in their tracks.

A remarkable show of 'people power' saw witnesses work together to stop the two career criminals from getting away.

Two passers-by kicked over their getaway bike, while a retired businessman was stabbed after standing his ground when the thieves tried to steal his car.

The robbers were armed with claw hammers and a knife, but the resolute crowd in Louth were determined to make sure they didn't get away.

Christopher London, 25, and Damion Clark, 30, were both jailed yesterday, with a judge hailing Louth's townspeople as being made of 'stern stuff'.

Lincoln Crown Court heard the raiders were confronted by members of the public on June 24.

Jewellery store owner Julie Smith spotted the thieves and pressed an alarm to lock them all in the shop.
Brave townsfolk confront the two raiders (Lincolnshire Police)
London, left, and Clark, right, were jailed for four years and nine-and-a-half years respectively. (Lincolnshire …
Meanwhile, as the raiders began smashing up the store, two passers-by stood guard outside the doors.

Another kicked over the getaway bike parked outside, while others also took the keys to the motorcycle.

As one of the robbers fled, he stabbed Eric Chapman near his eye after the retired businessman 'refused to budge' when Clark tried to steal his car.

Mr Chapman later said in a statement: 'I was not going to let him take my car so I didn't move. As he brought his right arm up I saw the knife, and then he stabbed me in the right side of my right eye.

'If people had not got involved in trying to stop them I think things could have been much worse.'

Clark was eventually detained by members of the public, including a retired policeman, while London was later arrested in a nearby back garden.
Clark and London smash the jewellery store during the foiled raid. (Lincolnshire Police)
Clark, who admitted robbery and unlawful wounding, was jailed for nine-and-a-half years.

London, who also admitted robbery, was sentenced to four years in prison.

Judge Sean Morris told them both: 'When you forced that lady to open the door the good citizens of Lincolnshire had disabled your getaway vehicle, your motorbike, so you had to make a run for it.

'You were chased by those people and what you did, Clarke, was then stab a man in the head. He was an elderly gentleman sitting in his car.

'You opened the door and tried to drag him off, but he was made of stern stuff and did not budge.'

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