Footsoldiers behind shocking ram raid robbery at Northampton jewellers still at large two years on

It has been two years since the day an armed gang of thieves crashed through the front door of Northampton's Michael Jones Jewellers in a meticulously planned robbery.

The complicated and carefully-laid scheme on December 8, 2018, saw a stolen white BMW crash through the glass doors of the store before five masked men poured in to steal upwards of £150,000 in high-end watches and jewellery.

The gang of robbers then escaped in a series of three prepared getaway cars that were set on fire after they had served their use in a bid to destroy evidence.

It has been two years to the day since the attack - and although the father-and-son masterminds behind the break-in were locked up in 2019 for a total of 34 years, the footsoldiers involved remain at large.

In January 2019, Elliot Burton and his son Connor were jailed for 20 and 14 years respectively for cooking up the plot.

It was never proven in court if either of the Burtons were in the car that crashed through the store on Bridge Street. But CCTV showed how five men piled into Michael Jones' - which means, at minimum, at least three of the gang are still at large.

At the sentencing in January, His Honour Judge Michael Fowler told the two men: "The planning was professional... Michael Jones Jewellers were attacked without any for the safety of anyone in the store.

"Staff and shoppers were not only terrified but injured both physically and psychologically.

"It cannot be said for certain either of you were involved physically in the robbery... But you were at the very least part of a gang of robbers who did your bidding."

Shocking CCTV showed how staff and shoppers ran in fear as the BMW crashed through the store front.

Members of the public could only watch agape as the BMW mounted the curb, straighten up, rev its engine and plow through the glass door.

But the white BMW was only the battering ram - because a second car, a stolen blue Hyundai, mounted the kerb seconds later and forced several pedestrians to leap out of harm's way.

At that moment, five armed men sprang from the Hyundai and piled into the store where they grabbed armfuls of high-end watches and valuables.

The Hyundai was the first getaway car, and within 45 seconds of the break in, the five men had climbed back in and made their escape.

CCTV showed how a pedestrian had to jump into a doorway for safety as the gang sped along the pavement and down Bridge Street.

This car was then driven to Auctioneer's Way where it was set on fire before the men then piled in a third car - a prepared, stolen Range Rover.

But even then, the robbers then drove to Buckingham University, where they again climbed into yet another escape car and torched the Range Rover before they left.

The meticulously planned operation was designed to destroy evidence and leave as little trace as possible.

All the cars used in the attack were stolen in the weeks leading up to the robbery.

However, the two Burtons were unable to escape justice.

Investigators discovered how, just one week before the robbery, both men were caught on CCTV visiting a string of jewellers across the Midlands in search of a target - including Michael Jones'.

The footage, which was played to the jury during the three-week trial, showed the father and son gaze through the window of the store in Bridge Street and pointing up and down the street - almost certainly plotting how their planned car could make its approach, smash through the door and makes its escape.

Both men were also convicted on plotting an identical attack on a jewellers in Swindon that was reportedly foiled on the day when a police officer found one of the prepared getaway cars.

Elliot Burton, 51, who was ruled to be the lead man in the robbery, was told he could be in his 70s by the time he leaves prison as he was handed a 20 year sentence. His son Connor, 27, was jailed for 14 years.