Ram-raiders smash into Yves Saint Laurent shop and steal handbags ‘worth thousands’

Ram-raiders ransacked an Yves Saint Laurent store in London and escaped with a haul of bags and other luxury items during a dawn raid.

They ploughed a black SUV car into the Bond Street shop front before running inside and plundering thousands of pounds of stock earlier today.

Metro understands that a number of ‘high value items’ were stolen at around 3am by three unarmed raiders, who then fled the scene separately.

One left in the car, another left on a moped and the third escaped on an e-bike.

The raid in the early hours of Friday was the second time in two months the luxury store, located in one of the capital’s shopping destinations, had been targeted. 

Earlier this week, a Rolex store in Knightsbridge was raided by robbers armed with machetes. They crashed a motorbike through the front door before fleeing with tens of thousands of pounds worth of watches. 

It is understood that the two raids are not connected.

A staff member at the YSL store told Metro the threat of robbery had become ‘part of every day life.’

He said: ‘They came this time in the early hours and escaped with some stuff we are assessing what they took now. They crashed through the shutters with a car.

‘This is becoming part of everyday life now sadly. We were targeted two months ago by thieves who smashed our windows but didn’t get anything. No one was injured which is good and we will come back from this but it’s hard. We are working with the police.’

Detectives are trawling through camera footage from inside the store and along the street. 

A security guard at a business opposite said: ‘We are on high alert but there’s only so much you can do. They targeted YSL recently it’s scary the risks these robbers will take.’.

Part of YSL was already boarded up from the previous raid. 

The shop on Friday was littered with broken glass and shelves empty where the thieves had plundered bags. 

As well as police, private security guards were on the scene and have beefed up their patrols after the recent raids. 

One told Metro: ‘We are always vigilant but this is very serious and we are on high alert.’

As construction workers cleared the broken glass from the shop and assessed the damage tourists said they thought a ‘bomb had gone off’. 

US tourist Will Shears said: ‘It looks like a bomb had gone off. This is not a good look for London. These robberies on prestigious streets are bad for its reputation.’

Detective Chief Inspector Scott Mather, whose team is leading the investigation, told Metro: ‘Our officers are working at pace to identify the men who carried out this robbery.

‘We recognise that an incident like this can impact on the local community, especially businesses and those travelling in and out of central London – please be reassured that our teams will continue to work around the clock and deploy every available asset to bring those responsible to justice.’

No arrests have been made and enquiries continue at this early stage.

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