Men jailed after antiques expert hurt in shop raid

Two men have been jailed after a TV antiques expert was hit on the head with a claw hammer during a robbery at his jewellery store.

James Dixon, 43, and Thomas Loring, 41, targeted Ian Towning's shop in Chelsea in March, taking up to £365,000 worth of antiques and jewellery. Mr Towning, who has appeared on Dickinson's Real Deal on ITV and Channel 4's Posh Pawn, has told the BBC he is "lucky to be alive".

The raid was one in a "campaign of burglaries" around Greater London between March and June 2024, targeting cash-in-transit workers, Post Offices and a Poundland.

Dixon was handed a 17-year extended prison sentence and Loring a 14-year sentence for conspiring to rob and conspiring to burgle.

Sentencing the pair at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, Judge Marcus Tregilgas-Davey said the jewellery shop burglary, on 26 March, was their most serious offence.

Dixon carried a claw hammer and Loring a sledgehammer, prosecutor Rupert Kent told the court.

A security guard at the Sydney Street arcade where Mr Towning's shop is located approached Dixon who "struck him with a hammer to the head, which felled him… you then kicked him", the judge said.

"Both of you then used the implements… to try and smash your way through the front window of the jewellers - unsuccessfully - you both then smashed through the locked door."

The two owners were inside and Mr Towning, who is in his 70s, was struck multiple times with a hammer, the court heard.

Judge Tregilgas-Davey said the owners were seen on CCTV "cowering on the floor".

He continued: "Dixon, you then punched Mr Towning again before you fled the shop with the items, got into a getaway car and sped off – it was a brazen robbery."

Mr Towning said in his victim impact statement, read to the court by the judge: "It's left me with a fear of social situations… I am depressed and often cry uncontrollably when I think about what happened."

The Chelsea raid was preceded by a failed robbery of a Post Office cash-in-transit worker on 11 March.

The court heard Loring waited in a getaway car as Dixon, wearing face coverings and gloves, ran up and punched the worker twice in the face "with a great deal of force", the judge said.

"He was left anxious, stressed, and was off work for three weeks – the force of the blow misaligned his jaw," Judge Tregilgas-Davey said.

On another occasion, the two men used crowbars to open the doors of a Poundland in Sidcup, where CCTV captured "staff fleeing at your approach, they were clearly stunned", the judge said.

A lone woman was in a storeroom when Loring kicked in the door. The court heard the pair made off with more than £5,000 and the woman subsequently described experiencing flashbacks and having been "fearful for her life".

In June, the men targeted a Post Office on the Old Kent Road.

Dixon took more than £8,000 and punched the postmaster, who later said he was "hit so hard that I couldn't physically get off the floor", the court heard.

The Metropolitan Police said both men were arrested after that offence.

Dixon pleaded guilty to conspiring to rob and conspiring to burgle, while Loring was convicted of the same offences after a trial.

Dixon's offending was committed while on licence for a previous offence, the court was told. He had 26 previous convictions for 50 offences, 30 of which were theft-related with seven against a person.

Loring had 23 convictions for 53 offences, of which 26 were theft-related and one was against a person.

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