Sword and axe raiders still hunted for gems shop attack

ROBBERIES have fallen by 11 per cent across Yorkshire but almost a year has passed since armed raiders stormed into John Bradley's jewellery shop – and the culprits are still at large.

Two masked men wielding an axe and a sword ran into Dot the Jewellers, in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, on the morning of September 11 last year.

But they were thwarted by Mr Bradley, who grappled with the men and disarmed one of his sword before retaliating against them with their own weapon.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The crooks suffered further embarrassment when Mr Bradley put closed circuit TV footage of the incident on the Internet.

Although the video was viewed 10,000 times in three days, the case remains open.

Mr Bradley, who required minor surgery on his hand after the incident, put the footage on the internet after a jury cleared

a man of being the getaway driver.

"No one has been convicted of the crime, but I don't put any blame on the police," he said.

"The justice system is simply not working."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The married father of two hopes advances in forensic technology will

trap the raiders.

"One heartening element to this case is that everyone in the street came forward to tell the police what they saw," he said.

"They came forward before they were told to, and I couldn't have asked for better support.

"This sort of thing doesn't usually happen in Saltaire, and the police said they hadn't received anywhere near as much information for other crimes of this type."

News you can trust since 1754
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice