Portsmouth jewellery raid: £57,000 worth of goods stolen

Thieves set fires at the back of Cascades Shopping Centre in Portsmouth at around 3am on July 26 before breaking into Ernest Jones.

Now Hampshire police are appealing to speak to a man who found a rucksack near Tesco, in Crasswell Street, at about 4am on July 26.

CCTV shows the man – who is not a suspect – finding the rucksack near Tesco.

A spokeswoman said: ‘Four men were seen to enter the shopping centre, via Charlotte Street.

‘The men stole £57,000 worth of jewellery from Ernest Jones, before exiting the shopping centre via the Wallis store, on to Commercial Road.

‘In total at least seven people are believed to have been involved in this incident.

‘Enquiries are ongoing in this investigation, however police would particularly like to speak to the man who was seen on CCTV to find the rucksack near Tesco.

‘If you found the rucksack, or know who did, police would like to hear from you.’

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting 44160278306.

Sledgehammers were seen at the scene of the burglary.