Thieves in £30,000 handbag raid

Police believe all three incidents are linked

A gang of smash and grab thieves on mopeds have stolen designer handbags valued at £30,000 from the Salvatore Ferragamo boutique in central London.

Police believe the Sloane Street robbery was connected to two subsequent attempted break-ins at boutiques in Regent Street and Cambridge Circle.

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with those two attempts.

A Salvatore Ferragamo employee said local merchants are considering hiring their own security patrols.

All three incidents took place early on Friday morning, and police believe they were linked.

Guard outnumbered

The employee at Salvatore Ferragamo, an Italian designer shoe and bag shop, said not only was the shop alarmed, but a security guard was on duty at the time of the break-in.

Outnumbered by six thieves, she said the guard took cover in the stock room. Police believe the gang used two mopeds to escape with the goods.

The robbery came a week after the shop was burgled and nine crocodile skin bags valued at £80,000 were taken.

"This time fortunately all of the precious leathers were hidden in the storeroom," the employee said.

"We are calling all the store managers to talk about having a private security service in this zone during the night because it is getting very bad."

Run over

Shortly after the Sloane Street incident, police say officers on patrol found two men on a moped trying to break into an unnamed shop on Regent Street.

After a short scuffle, one of the men ran and the other tried to escape on the moped, at one point running over an officer before being arrested.

The officer was treated in hospital for minor head injuries before being released.

Within the hour, a third shop was the subject of an attempted break-in at Cambridge Circle in Piccadilly by two men on a motorbike.

The two ran off, but one was arrested after his clothes became caught in the railings around nearby St Giles Church.