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Men convicted over robbery witnessed by reporter

Two men have been found guilty of carrying out a smash and grab raid which was caught on camera by a regional daily journalist.

Eastern Daily Press reporter David Blackmore witnessed the robbery at a jewellers in King’s Lynn on 31 January and took a photo of the incident, which was used on the paper’s front page.

Now two men have been convicted of robbery and possessing a fiream with intent to commit an indictable offence, after a trial at Norwich Crown Court.

One of those convicted, Imran Mostafa, 20, of Deverills Way, Slough, is the son of controversial Muslim cleric Abu Hamza, while the other man convicted was Jonathon Abdul, 17, of Fulham High Street, London.

They had denied the two offences but a jury found them guilty and they will be sentenced at a later date, alongside Ossama Hamed, 19, of Greswell Street in Fulham and Ahmed Ahmed, 20, of Nag’s Head Road in Enfield, who had previously admitted the same charges.

The raid took place at Francis Wain jewellers shortly before 10am on 31 January and £83,000 worth of gems were stolen.

David said he had not been involved in the court case but still had vivid memories of the robbery when he walked down the same street.

He said: “Whenever I walk down that street, it always plays on my mind and I can see it happening in front of me. I think it’s one of those things that has been imprinted on my mind.”

David managed to get a photo of the vehicle involved in the robbery, which he later showed to police officers, and had to dive for cover as it sped towards him when the robbers left the scene.