The masked raiders targeted the Turkish gold shop in London's Green Lanes on Tuesday
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This is the moment brave members of the public attempted to fight off thieves armed with machetes in a brazen broad daylight raid.
The incident, which took place shortly after 10am on Tuesday morning, saw the masked men target Turkish gold shop Bilezzik in Green Lanes, north London, with getaway riders captured waiting outside the store.
Footage uploaded to social media shows the fallout from the north London robbery, with the four individuals confronted by passers by.
Locals are captured swinging a saw and a broom in the direction of the raiders, as they attempted to stop the thieves making their escape.
Four figures clad in black and wearing motorcycle helmets descended on the independent jewellers, with two raiding the store, while two waited outside on motorbikes.
However, as the thieves made their escape – carrying two bags full of jewellery and with machetes in hand – brave members of the public were seen to fight back.
Robbers attack gold shop ……
Bilezzik gold shop in Haringey today ….
Nice to see people have had enough of these criminals ….
I hope police catch these thugs … pic.twitter.com/WeL7DSbSlH— Ediz (@ediz1975) February 24, 2026
One local, seemingly undeterred by the figure swinging a machete, is seen to confront the thief as he tries to get away, swinging a wooden broom as he charges towards the raider.
But moments before making contact, the man falls to the ground, with a second bystander taking swings at the machete bandit using a saw.
Taking advantage of the momentary slip, the raider is seen quickly jumping on the back of the motorbike before making his escape.
Both bikes pull away, but with the raider still struggling to mount the vehicle, some are seen to hurl bottles in an attempt to knock them off.
Police arrived at the scene shortly after according to reports.
'Very unexpected'
The jeweller, who wishes to remain anonymous, said the incident "took me aback a bit."
"Obviously the motorbike being inside the store, the way they just charged in. It wasn't something that we were expecting.
"I mean, right now, sort of the latest news with jewellers as it is, we are quite wary and we are sort of on the edge and trying to be as careful as we can.
"Like I said, we never really expected it in this community because they've always protected themselves and each other. So it was very unexpected.”
In terms of extra precautions, they told LBC reporter Shivani Sharma: "We've had to go through some protocols again.
"We've discussed, you know, how we let people in and buzz them in, not letting people stand in between the doors.
"It's definitely been an eye opener for all of us to sort of make sure those steps are in place to make sure our employers, our employees, sorry, and our businesses are safe.”
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: "Police were called at 10:04hrs on Tuesday, 24 February following reports of an armed robbery at a shop on Green Lanes, Islington.
"During the incident, a number of members of the public attempted to prevent the suspects from making off. No injuries were reported.
"Officers arrived on scene at 10:08hrs and an investigation is ongoing, with officers working quickly to secure evidence and identify suspects.
"At this stage, no arrests have been made.
"Anyone with information should contact 101 quoting CAD 2319/24Feb or, to remain anonymous, Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
It comes just a week after armed raiders wielding hammers shattered the front window of a Richmond jewellers as the store owners tried to defend themselves against the attack.
Footage emerging on social media shows the two raiders making off with armfuls of jewellery from the family jewellers close to Richmond Common, with staff attempting to save the goods by batting away the searching arms of the thieves.
Shopkeepers in south-west London now say they are "terrified" following the theft, which showed two masked men wielding sledgehammers breaking the windows of a jewellery shop on January 31.
