VIDEO: Jeweller tells of shock at raid

Police and CSI officers at St Annes after the armed robbery at J & L Carr Jewellers, Garden Street.

Three men are being hunted after J and L Carr Jewellers in St Annes was stormed on Thursday morning, with the crowbar-wielding robbers making off with a hoard of jewels.

A female shop worker was in the store at the time.

Owner Lynton Carr said: “Everybody is fine.

“It was a shock at the time, but afterwards it’s a case of pick yourself up, dust yourself down and get on with it.

“It’ll be next week before we open again to give the staff a bit of a break.”

Mr Linton, who has owned the shop on Garden Street for six years, said he hadn’t yet been in to assess the damage or amount of loss yet.

He praised police, who he said had collected a “tremendous” amount of CCTV footage and had a good response from the public about the crime.

He added: “We’ve never had anything like this here before.

“I think it seems to have astounded quite a lot of people.” Police say the men arrived at the jewellers at around 10.10am in a black Vauxhall Astra and got out, carrying crow bars.

A terrified worker from Pickles, next door to the jewellers, described how a gun was pointed at her as she stepped outside, and how she heard gunfire coming from next door.

Police are still investigating the firearms reports.

The men fled the scene in the car, which was later found abandoned near Royal Lytham and St Annes Golf Club in the Links Road area.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.