Moped gang’s daylight attempted jewellery robbery in Mayfair denied by locals

A gang armed with sledgehammers, attempting to smash in the windows of a jewellery shop in Mayfair were fought off by locals, with one gang member apprehended.
Mopeds, often with false or no number plates, are the go to vehicle for a significant amount of London crime including; bag snatching, acid attacks and vehicle break ins.  The concept being that the crime is committed before any police can arrive on scene and the escape is fast, with the moped enabling a clean get away by evading any traffic.
Dressed to intimidate and hide their identity, gangs are acutely aware of their position and any significant time delay is likely to result in them breaking off.  In this instance, a combination of restaurant works and builders armed with shovels intimidated the gang enough to pressure them into abandoning the attempted theft.
While personal safety is always the priority, this defiance by locals demonstrates the ability and effectiveness for locals to assist in deterring crime.  Equally the toughed security windows of the jewellery shop were critical to this crime being ultimately unsuccessful.