A thief who ran off with a £3,000 diamond ring from an Ely store told the manager it was for his girlfriend.
Italian Jewellery Ltd store in High Street was targeted by a man believed to be in his early 20s on Friday, September 14, at around 3pm.
The female store manager, who did not want to be named, said he had walked into the store earlier that morning with a woman, believed to be his girlfriend.
He returned that afternoon on his own, telling the store manager he wanted to look at the £3,000 ring before running off with it in broad daylight.
“He was just asking ‘can I have a look at that ring because I want to surprise my girlfriend’,” the store manager said.
“They came in earlier with a little boy and she said ‘oh, that’s lovely’, there was another lady with them as well, with a big cream pram and a little girl.”
CCTV footage of the incident shows the store manager taking the diamond ring out of the cabinet and the man immediately grabbing it before charging towards to the door.
“It happened so quickly,” the manager said. “Before I could get it out of the box he grabbed it and ran off.
“I just thought oh no, how could I have stopped him? Straight away I rang the police.”
She said she thought he had initially asked to see another ring worth £5,000, but when he said no she thought it odd he had stolen a ring that was £2,000 cheaper.
The stolen handmade ring is described as an 18ct white gold solitaire ring with a 1.11ct diamond set in a six-pronged claw setting.
News of the theft spread quickly around the town and the community rallied together to help the store find the culprit, by sticking pictures of the blonde-haired man - who wore a black t-shirt with check collar and blue jeans - inside their shops.
“For Ely this is quite shocking,” the store manager added. “I’ve had people coming in asking if I’m okay, I can’t believe this has happened in Ely.
“There’s a good community here.”
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