Would-be thieves left empty-handed after an attempted break-in at a Grey Lynn jewellery store after concerned residents, including a small feisty dog, raised the alarm. Video / supplied
Alarmed neighbours and one small dog thwarted an attempted robbery at an Auckland jewellery store on Wednesday night.
A witness told the Herald she heard a "screech of wheels" then heard "really loud thumps" and ran outside her property, which is near Diamonds on Richmond, just before 10pm.
"I ran outside and there was a car parked right outside the Diamonds on Richmond store and about five young guys were throwing big rocks at the glass door," she told the Herald.
The Diamonds on Richmond storefront was smashed during an attempted robbery. Photo / Supplied
"The alarm was going off but they just kept going."
The Grey Lynn resident grabbed her phone and ran out on to the road to try and see the number plate of the attempted robbers' car with her small Tibetan Spaniel behind her.
"I didn't realise Edith had followed me out the gate until she started going nuts barking, then I started yelling too."
Edith, the neighbourhood watchdog. Photo / Supplied
Other residents had also come out of their houses to see what all the commotion was about as the attempted robbers "bolted" back into their car and sped off.
By this time the witness was on the phone to police.
"They did some good damage but they didn't get in," the witness told the Herald.
The woman saw the group using "big rocks" to try and smash the glass, however, they didn't get through the metal grille.
The attempted robbers' rock proved no match for the store's metal grill. Diamonds on Richmond's front door after an attempted burglary during level 4 lockdown on August 25, 2021. Photo / Supplied
The glass door and storefront were smashed during the attempted robbery but the witness believed nothing from the store was taken.
Another neighbour filmed the attempted break-in on her phone as her husband was also on the phone to police.
Police confirmed they were in attendance following a report of a burglary on Richmond Rd.
"They didn't get in but they gave it a good go with two huge rocks," they said.
Diamonds on Richmond is a jewellery store in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn. It's understood the store was crashed into a few years ago which resulted in a smashed storefront and a broken gas pipe.
A number of Auckland jewellery stores have recently been targeted by robbers.
Police last month investigated the seventh heist of Michael Hill jewellery stores in the past 12 months.
And earlier this month a "significant" amount of jewellery was stolen from Pascoes, in the North West Shopping Centre.
