Two career criminals have been jailed for a violent £365,000 jewellery heist at a Chelsea antiques shop owned by television expert Ian Towning.
James Dixon, 43, and Thomas Loring, 41, were sentenced at Kingston Crown Court to 17 and 14 years in prison respectively for conspiring to rob and conspiring to burgle.
The balaclava-wearing pair targeted Bourbon Hanbury on Sydney Street in March last year, attacking staff with a clawhammer during what the court heard was part of a "campaign of burglaries" conducted between March and June.
The raid targeted the shop of Towning, 76, who has appeared on television programmes including ITV's Dickinson's Real Deal.
The incident took place in West London
Dixon used a clawhammer to strike a security guard's head before the pair "smashed through the locked door of the shop", Judge Marcus Tregilgas-Davey told the court.
Towning and his co-owner Les Barrett, 77, were then attacked inside the premises.
The criminals proceeded to smash through display cases, seizing valuable jewellery and antiques.
Before fleeing in a getaway car, Dixon delivered another punch to Towning.
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James Dixon, 43, and Thomas Loring, 41, were sentenced at Kingston Crown Court to 17 and 14 years in prison
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Among the £365,000 worth of stolen items were sapphire and diamond necklaces, with one piece alone valued at £44,000.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Towning revealed the devastating emotional toll of the attack.
"It's left me with a fear of social situations... I am depressed and often cry uncontrollably when I think about what happened," he told the court.
The raid was part of a wider crime spree by Dixon and Loring across London and the South East.
In March, they attempted to steal £25,000 from a Post Office cash-in-transit worker.
The Chelsea antiques shop is owned by television expert Ian Towning.
The pair burgled more than £3,000 worth of tobacco from a Shell Garage in Gravesend, Kent, in May, escaping in a stolen Skoda.
They also targeted a Poundland in Sidcup, South East London, making off with £5,000, and took more than £8,000 from a Post Office on the Old Kent Road in June.
Dixon, who had 26 previous convictions for 50 offences, pleaded guilty to the charges.
Loring, with 23 convictions for 53 previous offences, was convicted after trial.
The judge handed Dixon an extended sentence of 17 years, while Loring received 14 years.
