THIS is the moment a gang known as the Romanian Crime Academy smashed their way into a Blackburn jewellers and stole £450,000 worth of luxury items.

Footage of the crime was included in ITV programme Jewel Raiders: Caught on Camera this week.

Six men were jailed for a total of 47 years in March after the break-in at Chris Shan Jewellers in Blackburn Mall in February 2016.

The organised gang had meticulously planned raids on 11 businesses across the country escaping with £3.1million of jewellery including watches, rings and necklaces.

The Tonight programme focused on the police operation, which was led by the Staffordshire force, and how the gang were tracked down and caught.

In the footage shown the gang can be seen running through the Mall before using a sledgehammer to smash a window to the jewellers.

The gang also set a fire by a door in a bid to prevent access by emergency services.

DC Nathan Fish, of Lancashire Constabulary’s CID, said: “This ruthless and highly-organised group went on a country-wide crime spree which included a burglary at The Mall in Blackburn.

"During this particular incident the men caused significant damage to the shopping centre by smashing their way in with sledgehammers and setting a fire, before making off with a large amount of high value jewellery."

The spree started in November 2015 and ended in September 2016 and included raids in Milton Keynes, Oxford, Stoke-on-Trent, Bicester, Peterborough and Stratford-upon-Avon.

After they were sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, Det Chief Inspector Ricky Fields, of Staffordshire Police said the group could have been linked to a crime academy in Romania which recruits men and trains them in techniques such as how to avoid being followed and understanding forensic evidence.

In March four of the men were sentenced to eight years and two months behind bars for conspiracy to commit burglaries.

Another gang member was given eight years' imprisonment for the same offence and a sixth was sentenced to six years and six months for aggravated burglary and conspiracy.