Burqa-clad gang steal watches worth one mn pounds

In a well-planned, brazen strike, a gang of six people dressed in burqas raided a popular department store in London and fled with one million pounds worth of luxury watches, police said.

The gang, which targeted the Selfridges store, carried axes and sledge hammers under the burqas, the Guardian daily reported.

The raid took place Thursday evening, police said.

The gang smashed glass cabinets and then filled holdalls with the watches.

Stunned witnesses said the gang then met accomplices outside and sped away on a moped, two motorbikes and a black BMW Estate.

Two suspects were arrested after they fell off the moped when it crashed nearby and the public stopped them from leaving.

Scotland Yard said one holdall was recovered at the scene. It contained 41 watches.

Police said it was a "brazen attack that was clearly well planned and well thought through".

A 19-year-old man has been charged with offences related to the robbery, police said.

A 24-year-old man, believed to have a fractured leg, was taken to a London hospital.

The two motorbikes were recovered by police. The suspects, however, ran off.