Life 'in ruins' following £500k jewellery theft (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Life 'in ruins' following £500k jewellery theft

3:32pm Thursday 9th July 2009

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A JEWELLER says his life is in ruins after losing over £500,000 of stock to professional thieves when he left The Cotswold Show on Saturday.

Tony Scott, 56, who was working on a stall at the show as a jewellery trader, was followed as he drove the short distance from Cirencester Park to the Tesco Kingsmeadow car park between 6.20pm and 6.40pm.

He went inside to buy a sandwich and ten minutes later he discovered the rear window of his red Ford Maverick had been smashed and the thieves stole two bags containing the jewellery.

There were over 400 gold, platinum and diamond items of jewellery in the bags with a total value of over £500,000.

Mr Scott is desperate for anyone who may have seen anything to come forward but said he is resigned to the fact he is unlikely to see the jewellery again and admitted he was careless in leaving it unattended in the car.

"In a split second I have lost everything and it’s uninsured," he told the Standard. "The insurance was offered at £2,300 a month and I can’t afford that.

"I’m literally bankrupt now, I’m going to lose my home over this."

Mr Scott, who lives in Leicestershire, said that he believes one of the offenders will have watched him leave the show and then telephoned someone else who was sat waiting in a car outside the ground ready to follow his car for an opportunity to break in and take the bags.

They did not have long to wait.

Mr Scott added: "I didn’t realise I was followed and I have no idea of who did it. I’m in a very dangerous business, I know this can happen but I didn’t spot anyone following me."

"I have built my stock up over the last two-three years Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 0845 0901234 quoting incident number 491 of July 4.

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