MOMENTS after these images were caught on camera, two men smashed up a Blackburn jewellers and escaped with up to £100,000 of designer watches.

Detectives want to speak to both men in connection with the armed robbery on Humberstones Jewellers.

The CCTV images clearly show two men inside the shop, one holding what appears to be a black handgun.

Seconds later, one man shattered display cabinets with hammers, while another threatened workers with the weapon.

They grabbed the high-value Rolex watches from the front window of the King William Street shop and bundled them into a satchel before running off in different directions.

They took designer watches worth between £70,000 and £100,000, police said.

Detectives hope the images will help catch the pair resonsible for the robbery which happened just before 3pm on Friday,September 20.

Det Insp Mark Vaughton said: “Fortunately, no-one was injured but understandably everyone involved has been left extremely shaken by what can only be described as a terrifying ordeal. An investigation is underway and I would appeal to anybody that may have witnessed either the robbery itself, or the offenders leaving the scene, to contact police immediately. In particular, if anyone recognises the men in the images then I would urge them to contact us as soon as possible.

“I would also appeal to anyone who may have seen anybody acting suspiciously in the area not only on this afternoon but in the days leading up to the robbery to come forward and speak with police. Any piece of information, no matter how small, could be crucial to the investigation so please come forward if you think you can help.”

Call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org