TWO burglars who smashed their way into a jewellers with an axe and hammer have been jailed for the £19,000 raid.

Niki Williams and David Browne bashed their way through a window at the Frederick James shop, in The Broadway, Pitsea, which was open at the time, to steal more than 20 gold bracelets and pendants.

They fled to Southend train station, where police officers swooped – with Williams, 37, telling them: “Well done guys, I have got all the jewellery downmy trousers.”

Basildon Crown Court heard yesterday how Browne, 38, was trying to clear his £7,000 class A drug debt and Williams’s personal debts had spiralled after he broke his foot and was unable to work.

Judge Ian Graham told them: “You equipped yourselves with an axe and hammer and had decided you were going to smash the front window and do what is sometimes called a smash and grab.

“The jewellers had a secure front door, so it was not possible to go in through that way, and in fact that meant staff were protected from whatever you were about to do.

“This was a very serious, organised and planned burglary with a number of aggravating factors.

Both of you have long records, although not as busy in recent years as you were in earlier years.

“These offences are so serious they have to be met by substantial periods of imprisonment, as I am sure you realise.”

The pair, whose raid was captured on CCTV, were arrested a couple of hours after the burglary, at 12.30pm, on January 8, with the help of a shopper who took down the getaway car’s registration.

Christopher Whitcombe, mitigating for Browne, said they had waited for the shopfront to be clear of people and the impact on the staff was minimised.

He added that dealers had called in Browne’s drug debt just before Christmas and he had previously had to deal to try to clear what he owed.

The charge had been downgraded from aggravated burglary to burglary after the Crown Prosecution Service accepted the pair had only intended to use the weapons to damage the window and not threaten anyone. They both admitted burglary.

Judge Graham sentenced Williams, of Swanage Road, Southend, and Browne, of Holden Gardens, Basildon, to two-and-ahalf years each.

Browne, who also admitted a string of drug offences, including offering to deal cannabis, possession of 2.38g of cannabis and possession of 5.92g of cocaine, with intent to supply, was sentenced to a further 18 mo