Dorchester Hotel in smash and grab jewellery raid
Helmet-clad robbers on mopeds raided The Dorchester Hotel in London, one of the country's best known five star hotels.
The men, who were carrying sledgehammers, carried out a smash-and-grab on the luxury hotel.
A gang of six men pulled up on mopeds outside the Dorchester Hotelin wealthy Mayfair in central London in the early hours of Tuesday morning and smashed display cabinets, stealing watches and jewellery.
Police came across the incident at around 1.37am and gave chase but lost sight of the suspects around a mile away in the area of Shaftesbury Avenue.
Police believe the heist was well-planned.
One of the bikes hit a 25-year-old woman in Cambridge Circus as the gang fled, leaving her with leg injuries that required hospital treatment.
Detective Constable Alex Flanagan said: "We are in the early stages of our investigation and I would like to hear from anyone who was on Park Lane or nearby who may have seen the robbery or the men making their escape.
"Likewise I am keen to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the accident that took place in
Cambridge Circus.
"This was a well planned and thought through robbery and there may be people who know who is responsible and I am keen for those with any information no matter how small to come forward and assist us with our investigation."
This follows a number of similar robberies that have taken place in London's West End, where thieves have arrived on bikes and tried to smash their way in to jewellery stores.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman for the Dorchester said: "We can confirm that there was an incident at the hotel last night in which showcases were damaged. The hotel security team were quick to respond and the matter is now in the hands of the police.
"As ever the comfort and security of our guests and employees remains our top priority."
Detective Constable Alex Flanagan said police are hopeful that releasing images of the incident will help move the investigation forward.
Three people are seen entering London's Dorchester hotel's revolving doors just after 1.30am yesterday morning, in CCTV images released by the Met Police today.
Six men travelling on three mopeds arrived at the building, while three of the men made their way inside and used sledge hammers in what police described as a smash and grab robbery which lasted a matter of minutes.
In one of three images made public today the other three men are shown to wait outside as their accomplices smashed a number of display cabinets and stole watches and jewellery.
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