£1,800 gold necklace stolen in 'sledgehammer' burglary at historic Southport venue

Merseyside Police are appealing for information after a nine-carat gold necklace, worth £1,800, was stolen from an historic Southport venue.

At around 1.30am on New Year’s Eve, it was reported that a man on a bike rode up to the front of the Royal Arcade on Lord Street and hit the window several times with a sledge hammer.

The man then reached through the broken window and took a necklace, and a bracelet, worth over £2,000 before riding towards Prince of Wales.

An investigation is underway and Merseyside Police have now issued a photo of the stolen jewellery and CCTV images of a man who they believe could assist in their enquiries.

Detective Chief Inspector Andrew McCourt said: “Our officers are determined to find anyone who was involved and retrieve these valuable items.

“We have recovered CCTV of the incident, although the images are not clear and you can see that the man has concealed their face, I would encourage you to focus on the clothing, the physical appearance and the bicycle which has a distinctive white stripe on the bar.

“Also if you work in the area and saw a man on this bike near the arcade at around 1.30am on New Years Eve or might have captured the offender on CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage during or after the incident, please do get in touch.

“To steal from a business which is a historic part of the community is a despicable crime. The nine-carat gold necklace that was taken from the Royal Arcade was hand made in 1975 and is worth approximately £1800.

“If you have seen the necklace for sale online from someone in the area please contact police.”

Anyone with information should contact us via X @MerPolCC or on Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ or call 101 quoting incident reference 25001062816.

Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.