Brave staff at a jewellery shop attempted to stop the theft of watches in Christchurch
The brave actions of a staff member during a robbery at a jewellery shop in Christchurch were commended by a judge.
Matthew Benjamin Wood, aged 42 and of West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to robbery at Bournemouth Crown Court on Monday 30 June 2025.
At around 11.15am on Thursday 9 March 2023, Wood entered Christchurch Jewellers in Saxon Square and asked to view two watches. One was valued at £995 and the second was £12,995.
He was taken into a private room to view the watches, but subsequently left the store as he said he wanted to speak with his girlfriend before purchasing.
At approximately 12.30pm later that day, Wood returned to the shop and asked to view the watches again.
He grabbed both of the watches and went to leave the shop, but was stopped by a member of staff who shut the door to prevent him from leaving.
Wood made efforts to get out for around 20 seconds, before he pushed the staff member against the door and made his escape.
A report was made to the police and crime scene investigators attended the shop.
Fingerprints were obtained from the glass display surface, which provided a match to Wood.
He was subsequently arrested in West Yorkshire and brought before the court. Wood was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison.
Detective Sergeant Kate Bleese, of Dorset Police, said: “Thankfully, the victim was not physically injured during the incident, but this was a terrifying incident for her and her colleagues.
“At the sentencing hearing, the judge identified that the actions of the victim were very brave in the circumstances as she took it upon herself to try and stop the defendant from making off with the watches.
“I am pleased that through our investigative work and examination of the scene, we were able to identify Wood as the defendant so he could face justice for his actions.”
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