Robber in a BURKA: Police hunt 6ft 6in jewellery store raider disguised in Muslim dress

Her towering 6ft 6in height, for one thing.

The fact that she was pushing a pram, however, persuaded staff to release the lock and let her in.

At that point, four men armed with hammers burst into the shop and smashed open the glass display cabinets.

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They shovelled £200,000 of 24-carat gold jewellery into bags before fleeing with their (male) accomplice in two getaway cars.

Owner Raj Kumar offered a £5,000 reward to catch the gang who raided Friends Jewellers in Smethwick, West Midlands.

He said it was his mother who first spotted the tall figure in the burka just after 1pm on Wednesday. "We have buzzer entry and he was trying to get my mum to let him in.

"She thought he looked too tall to be a woman but he had this pushchair with him.

"When she opened the door these men ran in from behind and used hammers to smash through the next door. It took them about five goes to get through the glass."

The raiders, all believed to be Asian, attacked Mr Kumar, his brother Ash and their two security guards with pepper spray before raiding the cabinets.

"They got us all in the face," added Mr Kumar. "One of them threw a claw hammer at me and they hit my brother's arm - he's got a big cut down it.

"We think this gang have raided other jewellery shops so we tried to prepare for something like this, but when it happened we just froze. We thought they had guns."

Keith Davies, a member of the local police authority, said: "This calls up a lot of questions about how we deal with crime. I would hate to think there could be challenges on women walking round the streets in burkas."

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The men made off on foot to a nearby street where there were two cars waiting. The offenders are all believed to be Asian.

Councillor Keith Davies expressed concern about robbers impersonating women in burkhas.

Mr Davies, who is also a member of the police authority, said: "I am a member of the police authority and I will be asking if this kind if think has happened before.

"It's the first time I have heard of anything like this.

"It calls up a lot of questions about how we deal with crime. I would hate to think there could be challenges on women walking round the streets in burkhas. It is really unusual."

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Councillor Mohammed Rouf added: "I am really shocked. It seems they are trying to come up with new ideas to rob people.

"This is bad for the community and I am shocked that they would go this far just to steal."

West Midlands Police are appealing for witnesses.

A force spokesman said: "Five men, with their faces covered, entered the store.

"Once inside, the men, armed with hammers, smashed display cabinets and sprayed four members of staff with an unknown substance.

"The men made off on foot with a quantity of jewellery across the road to waiting vehicles.

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"The waiting cars are believed to be an Audi A4 or RS 4 model and a silver mini with a black roof.

"The offenders are all believed to be Asian, dressed in dark clothing with their faces covered.

"One offender was thought to be wearing a full-length burkha garment. He entered the store with an empty pushchair and was described as 'pretending' to be female.

"There were six members of staff in the store at the time of the incident. The four members who were sprayed with the substance suffered a small amount of redness to skin."

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