This is the dramatic moment four armed thugs raided a south Essex jeweller in broad daylight.

CCTV footage from outside Coleby's jewellers shop in High Street, Billericay, shows the moment four thieves, armed with sledgehammers attempted to break into the shop at around 11.30am on Wednesday.

They rode into the high street on three mopeds, wearing helmets to hide their faces.

One bike attempted to ram the front door of the jewellers, while another person, clutching a sledgehammer, tried to smash through the door.

One of the group was distracted by a brave hairdresser from LJR hair and beauty salon, next door,who attempted to intervene.

The man threw an A-board at the thief, who smashed the window of the salon with a hammer after the object was thrown.

Following the incident, Lauren Vinicombe, who runs LJR Hair and Beauty, said: “We do have a bit of a hero here but I don’t really want to talk about what happened yesterday, I want to put it behind us."

As another biker appeared to ride towards the salon, another brave member of the public attempted to stop the raid.

A driver in a blue ford transit drove their vehicle onto the pavement, towards the armed thieves and tried to stop them.

As the motorists tried to escape, two of the suspects hammered through his front windscreen and driver's side window.

Nothing was stolen in the incident.

Following the incident, a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be identified has been charged with attempted aggravated burglary and appeared at Chelmsford Youth Court today, Saturday February 3.

A police spokesman said: "The teenager was remanded to appear at Basildon Youth Court on February 6.

"The police investigation is ongoing and witnesses or anyone with information are asked to contact Basildon CID on 101 quoting reference 42/14826/18. 

"Alternatively, contact independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or www.crimestoppers-uk.org."