TWO Crayford men have been jailed for stealing Rolex watches worth £15,000 from a jewellery shop.

Harry Dunham, 26, of Maiden Lane and Jimmy Marney, 28, of Station Road were arrested in Dartford on March 7 following the theft from Battrum and Sons in Sittingbourne.

The pair, who each pleaded guilty to theft, were jailed for two years at Maidstone Crown Court on Wednesday.

Police officers were called to the High Street jewellers at 11am after Dunham had previously entered the store and enquired about Rolex watches.

He asked to see two Rolex Oyster watches, one a female design and one a male design.

The owner of the shop handed the watches to Dunham who inspected them before turning and running towards the door.

With the door on a magnetic lock, it delayed him for a few seconds until he pulled the door back, causing the glass to crack and smash.

Dunham was then spotted by a witness running across Station Street to a car parked in an alleyway, shouting ‘go, go, go.’

The same witness took down the vehicle’s registration number and passed the information to police, who logged the number plate on the police automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system.

Later the same day, Marney was seen driving the car in Lowfield Street, Dartford.

Officers stopped the car and arrested Marney at the scene while Dunham fled from the car towards Central Park.

Officers chased him and he was caught and subsequently arrested and the two men were charged the following day.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Kathryn Lumsden-Earle said: “This was a really good result in which Dunham and Marney were arrested in Dartford just over an hour after they had committed the offence in Sittingbourne.

“Within a 24 hour period the pair were both charged and have now received a custodial sentence.

He added: “I would like to praise the witness who had the speed of thought to realise that something was awry and managed to take down the vehicle registration.

“That proved vital in this case as we were able to track down the car, locate the two offenders and made two swift arrests.”