VICIOUS raiders who beat up a Blackburn jewellery firm boss may have escaped with up to £400,000 worth of diamonds and gold, he revealed today.

The raiders stole five black boxes full of diamond-encrusted jewellery - alone worth a quarter of a million pounds - as well as other gold jewellery in the raid on Tony and Son's Auctioneers and Valuers Ltd on Lynwood Road.

After tying up and beating owner Mr Shabir Karim, the two men fled on foot, taking the security camera video cassette with them.

"It all happened so quickly," said 26-year-old Mr Karim. "I was getting something from the car and the next thing I knew someone hit me. "One had a gun and the other had some sort of baseball bat. They dragged me along and stuck a gun in my chest.

"They slung me on a chair and one tied my hands behind my head while the other tied my feet.

"They beat me with the bat on my legs to try to get me to open the safe but I said I did not know the number.

"They knew what they were looking for because they took the gold and left the silver. They even took the gold Rolex off my wrist - they've totally cleared me out."

Mr Karim was left with bad bruising to his head and legs but said he was "more shaken up than anything else.

He was still taking stock of what was missing, but estimated the value to be between £300,000 and £400,000.

Police are now appealing for anyone who may have seen the men carrying a black, leather-look Next holdall, in the Lynwood Road, Granville Road area at about 10 am yesterday.

The raiders are both described as having Liverpudlian, Afro-Caribbean accents. One was 6ft 4ins tall, broad built and wearing a black woollen scarf and dark jacket.

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