Masked robbers attacked Channel 4 star with hammers in £200,000 jewellery raid

Two robbers who attacked a celebrity jeweller with hammers in a £200,000 raid are facing lengthy prison sentences.

James Dixon, 42, and Thomas Loring, 41, were captured on CCTV as they ransacked Ian Towning’s shop in Chelsea and hit him on the head with a hammer on March 26.

Mr Towning, 76, a star of the Channel 4 show ‘Posh Pawn’, was cornered in his Bourbon Hanby Antiques shop as the raiders grabbed valuables – including a £35,000 sapphire and diamond necklace.

He was left bleeding and another member of staff, also in his 70s, needed stitches after the attack.

Dixon, of Pimlico, southwest London, admitted conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to steal, robbery of cash and possession of an offensive weapon.

Loring, of Eltham, southeast London was found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery at Kingston Crown Court, after the jury deliberated for just 42 minutes.

The masked men broke into the antiques shop in February (Picture: PA)

James Dixon and Stephen Loring are facing a lengthy sentence (Picture: PA)

Dixon and Loring were part of an organised crime network based in south London and targeted cash in transit vans and post offices.

They were arrested after an attack on cash in transit worker at a Post Office on the Old Kent Road on June 19, during which they punched and kicked the guard, stealing £26,000 in the process.

After the raid Dixon had spent more than £2,500 cash at Lacoste and Hugo Boss on Regent Street before calling one of his three girlfriends to pick him up.

They also robbed a Post Office on Old Kent Road (Picture: PA)

They smashed the owner of the shop’s head with a hammer (Picture: PA)

Detective Chief Inspector Laura Hillier of the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad said Dixon had been offending since he was a teenager.

DCI Hillier added: ‘We are going to talk to the judge ahead of sentencing about Dixon’s dangerousness so that when he is eventually released there will be enhanced probation and licensing aspects because it’s really important to show his past history of offending and the impact it’s had on his victims and the community as a whole.’

The pair face sentence at Kingston Crown Court in the new year.

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