Jewellery shop raiders are jailed

Philip (left), Blair and Mayer (right) are all from south London

Three men who stole almost £300,000 in diamonds from a jewellers have been jailed for nine years each.

Justin Philip, 25, David Mayer, 21, and Sherome Blair, 22, all from south London, admitted the robbery at the Ace of Diamonds in London on 2 June 2003.

The Old Bailey heard 12 men dressed in helmets pulled up outside the Hatton Garden shop on high-powered motorbikes.

Judge Christopher Moss said: "This was a professional crime, carefully and brutally executed."

A ferocious robbery took place... it was almost like a military operation Nina Crinnion, prosecuting

He also praised acts of "great bravery" after the court heard how a police woman and security guards stopped some of the robbers from escaping.

The court heard how some of the gang pushed their way inside the shop and stole a tray of gems which were being shown to a doctor and a nurse.

Security guards outside were wrestling with other members of the group who were trying to break security glass windows with sledgehammers.

Graham Hanike, a security guard, pulled Philip to the ground and sat on him despite having a shotgun and a handgun pointed at him, said Nina Crinnion, prosecuting.

And a female police officer chased after Mayer but in Farringdon Road he stopped and pointed a gun at her.

Sledgehammers were used to try and break security glass windows

When she ordered him to put it down and arrested him she discovered it was an imitation.

Blair, who was also chased by a constable into the same road, was arrested in a pub after punching the officer, Miss Crinnion added.

The Old Bailey was told the rest of the gang escaped with £263,000 worth of diamonds.

None of the gems was recovered.

Miss Crinnion said: "A ferocious robbery took place. It was almost like a military operation."

Lawyers for the three men said they had sledgehammers during the robbery and had not used firearms.

Outside court, Detective Chief Inspector Jim Dickie of Scotland Yard's Flying Squad said: "I think the judge's sentences reflect the serious and professional nature of this offence."