MORE than 30 Rolex watches were among £200,000 of jewellery stolen in a robbery at a shop in a Kent town centre, it has been revealed.

Police are following up a number of leads after the second raid in the space of a week at Fraser Hart Jewellers in Fremlin Walk, Maidstone.

In the latest incident, which happened on Friday, three men entered the store and threatened staff before smashing the interior glass of a window display with a sledgehammer and club hammer.

The men drove off in a blue saloon parked in Earl Street, which was later found abandoned on Edna Road, in Ringlestone, near Maidstone.

Det Sgt Graham Hooks, who is leading the investigation, said: "Because this crime was carried out in broad daylight in front of many witnesses, we have a lot of information to sift through and we are currently following up many different lines of inquiry.

"We are taking a highly proactive stance and our town centre officers are visiting other jewellers in the town to offer crime prevention advice and are stepping up patrols to provide reassurance."

Only three days earlier, on Tuesday, December 4, another gang attacked staff at the jewellers with pepper spray and made off with £500 of jewellery.

Anyone with information regarding the raid at Fremlin Walk on December 7, please contact Det Sgt Hooks or Det Con Taft on 01622 604267 or 01622 604266.