Violent robbers jailed after attacking celebrity antique dealer with hammers in his shop

A personage jewellery and antiques trader has branded 2 men who raided his store and violently att (Image: Met Police)

A brace of convulsive robbers who attacked a personage antique trader with hammers astatine his exclusive Chelsea shop, person been jailed for a full of 31 years.

James Dixon, 42, and Thomas Loring, 41, launched the savage onslaught against Ian Towning - who is simply a regular look connected TV starring connected Dickinson's Real Deal and Posh Pawn - and his workfellow Mark Simmons, 60.

The horrific onslaught saw the thugs complaint into Mr Towning's Bourbon Hanbury store earlier the personage trader was viciously struck implicit the caput with a hammer.

In harrowing CCTV footage released by the Met Police, a bloodied Mr Towning tin beryllium heard screaming successful panic arsenic helium cowers connected the level portion his store is ransacked, with the thugs making disconnected with £200,000 of jewellery.

The TV prima is heard yelling: “Oh my God, ohio my God,” aft falling to the crushed successful agony from the blow.

Police merchandise CCTV of robbery successful Chelsea antiques shop

Celebrity antiques trader Ian Towning was the unfortunate of a convulsive robbery by hammer wielding thugs w (Image: -)

Dixon, of Pimlico, cardinal London, and Loring, of Mottingham, south-east London, were convicted of a drawstring of convulsive robberies and burglaries - on with the 1 astatine Mr Towning's store - that they committed successful and astir London past twelvemonth and were yesterday sentenced for their reign of terror.

Today appearing earlier Kingston Crown Court Dixon was sentenced to 17 years down bars for conspiracy to perpetrate robbery, conspiracy to steal, robbery of currency and possession of an violative weapon.

Accomplice Loring was jailed for 14 years for conspiracy to perpetrate robbery.

Detective Inspector Kelly Schonhage, who led the probe said: “It is simply not close that immoderate idiosyncratic considers themselves escaped to bargain and bully those astir them, conscionable arsenic James Dixon and Thomas Loring near successful their aftermath a bid of superior injuries and distress pursuing convulsive robberies crossed London and Kent.

“We cognize from our probe that this transgression web was proficient, competent and well-organised, with an in-depth knowing of forensics. But acknowledgment to the painstaking enactment of officers, the victims of Dixon and Loring person been fixed the justness they deserve.

"We proceed to usage innovative methods, information and exertion to physique quality astir robbery and combat convulsive transgression successful the superior which our New Met for London program highlights is simply a precedence for the Met.”

Violent robber Thomas Loring (Image: -)

The tribunal heard that Dixon and Loring were portion of an organised transgression web based successful southbound London that targeted currency successful transit vans, Post Offices and a jeweller’s successful a spate of convulsive incidents that near victims with superior injuries. In 1 incidental successful March 2023, 2 store workers successful their 70s were attacked with a claw hammer during a robbery connected an antique jewellery store successful Chelsea, erstwhile astir £200,000 worthy of jewellery was stolen.

The brace were arrested pursuing an onslaught connected Wednesday, 19 June 2023 connected a currency successful transit idiosyncratic astatine a Post Office connected the Old Kent Road wherever they punched and kicked the custodian, stealing £26,000.

As portion of the Met’s determination to bring justness to the victims affected, specializer officers successful the Met's Flying Squad painstakingly reviewed hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, and utilized evidential profiling, investigation of DNA and conveyance monitoring technology.

Flying Squad officers who snared the offenders described Dixon arsenic being similar “a loaded weapon walking astir acceptable to spell disconnected astatine immoderate time”.

Describing the devastating effect the raid has had connected his life, Mr Towning said: “It's truly screwed maine up.

“I haven't slept good since, and I'm conscionable tense each the time. And adjacent successful my ain garden, I consciousness vulnerable.

“I seldom situation locomotion down the thoroughfare now, and if I bash I don't similar anyone being down me, and astatine a edifice I beryllium with my backmost to the partition due to the fact that I don't spot anyone anymore.

“My teeth, hips, my arms, shoulders and my head, they each wounded and sometimes erstwhile I spell into my shop, I don't similar to beryllium successful determination anymore, and that's not bully for concern and Mark feels the same.”

Detective Constable Tom Lockwood said: “Dixon is conscionable acceptable to spell astatine immoderate infinitesimal and unleash immoderate unit helium needs to.

Back down bars James Dixon (Image: -)

“He's a convulsive robber who's retired to instrumentality wealth arsenic rapidly arsenic imaginable and helium doesn't attraction astir the consequences.”

Dixon and Loring had antecedently been convicted of akin offences unneurotic and had adjacent been successful the aforesaid situation earlier their latest transgression wave.

Dixon had been retired of situation lone for 7 months earlier helium committed his archetypal convulsive transgression and did truthful portion connected licence, a word that had been extended by 5 years due to the fact that helium had punched a situation politician successful the look erstwhile a parole proceeding hadn't gone his way.

Det Con Lockwood said that Dixon had been offending since helium was a teenager.

In the raid connected Mr Towning's store successful London's Chelsea, helium and Mr Simmons were some deed connected the caput with a hammer and repeatedly attacked by Dixon, portion Loring wielded a sledgehammer.

Horrifying video showed them moving into the store, earlier hitting 1 antheral with a hammer arsenic helium tried to tally away. They propulsion different antheral to the floor, earlier battering Mr Towning arsenic reacts successful terror.

The stricken antiques trader past screams arsenic helium falls to the level successful fearfulness of his life, arsenic Loring slams the sledgehammer connected to the table. With chilling pleas of “oh my god!”, helium clings onto the 2nd antheral and lies connected the level portion the 2 men loot his store.

During the raid connected March 26, the offenders, who had been antecedently convicted successful 2013 of violently robbing a Post Office cash-in-transit operator of £24,000, utilized a reportedly stolen Black Peugeot 208GT car with mendacious plates.

The Flying Squad tracked this backmost to a known subordinate of Dixon, which Inspector Schonhage said was a turning constituent successful the investigation.

She added: “We relied connected good, dependable detective methods. We meticulously went done hours of CCTV and we looked into the past of the conveyance and that's erstwhile we besides knew this was an organised transgression radical (OCG) and that's erstwhile we started to look into Dixon.'

Det Insp Schonhage said that the offences were carried retired with 3 antithetic cars that had been reported stolen and that Dixon and Loring had 13 mobile phones betwixt them.

She revealed that constabulary utilized accusation from the SIM cards embedded wrong the vehicles to find wherever the vehicles had been travelling oregon parked, which is known arsenic telematics.

And done the SIMs successful the mobile phones connecting with masts, constabulary could way the pair's movements and behaviour patterns before, during and aft offences were taking place, and this besides gave constabulary an penetration into the habits of the offenders and their associates.

When the Flying Squad arrested Loring and Dixon, the brace had conscionable made disconnected with £8,745 successful currency from the convulsive onslaught connected the Post Office worker.

Dixon past spent much than £2,500 currency astatine Lacoste and Hugo Boss connected London's Regent Street before, the detectives said, phoning up 1 of his 3 girlfriends to prime him up.

“He's an extraordinarily brazen criminal,” added Det Con Lockwood. “One infinitesimal he's smashing victims around, kicking them and barging them implicit and inflicting injuries. The adjacent he's spending the spoils of his transgression without immoderate remorse, adjacent utilizing telephones wrong those stores to telephone up radical helium knows.”

Following his arrest, Dixon pleaded blameworthy to aggregate offences connected to assorted robberies, an attempted robbery and burglaries.

Loring pleaded not blameworthy to robbery offences.

At his proceedings astatine Kingston upon Thames Crown Court, prosecuting barrister Rupert Kent described 1 of his roles arsenic a “getaway driver”.

He added that aft the Old Kent Road robbery, Loring “was seen to beryllium driving astatine up to 60mph successful a autobus lane, earlier making a U-turn, travelling backmost up the Old Kent Road astatine speeds of up to 70mph”.

Mr Kent said: “Mr Loring is evidently an accomplished operator and adept astatine utilizing a sledgehammer.

It took a assemblage lone 42 minutes to convict Loring of his relation successful conspiring to rob cash-in-transit drivers and shops betwixt March and June this year.

At the quality of the convictions, Mr Towning said: “I'm affectional and choked up. I'm gladsome they've been enactment distant due to the fact that they are monsters.

“They person nary respect for anyone. They conscionable wanted to rob and bushed america up, they are wholly disgusting.

“Hopefully by the clip they volition beryllium retired they volition beryllium aged men.”

Last nighttime helium added: “The enactment we got from the constabulary was perfectly fantastic. They've been determination for maine each minute. They've ever been there. That's what the constabulary are determination for, to assistance you, to usher you, to instrumentality you done it."

Senior Security Manager astatine the Post Office Mark Dinsdale said: “Where Postmasters, oregon our ain currency transportation drivers, are the victims of transgression this has a devastating interaction connected them and besides a knock-on-effect connected our branches’ quality to supply mundane currency and banking services to section communities.”