A smash and grab gang which used sledgehammers to steal jewellery worth hundreds of thousands of pounds have been jailed.

The ten-strong crew trawled the south before targeting shops full of high-quality gems.

Detectives believe they stole about £600,000 worth of jewellery in just six months.

Police said the gang was “motivated by greed” and that members of staff were left traumatised by the raids.

The most high-profile robbery was at W Bruford in Eastbourne where Cartier and Rolex watches worth more than £200,000 were grabbed.

A member of the public photographed Christopher Ashman and Thomas Loring, along with Corey Fregis, in the act.

A judge branded Ashman and Loring ruthless career criminals before jailing them for a total of 13 years.

They were caught after detectives from Eastbourne CID linked the Bruford raid to 12 others being investigated in Chichester, Dorset, Thames Valley, Kent, Essex and London.

A total of ten people are now behind bars for the crimes.

Judge Richard Hayward told Ashman and Loring their crimes were carefully planned and ruthlessly executed.

He said: "You are both career criminals. The offences were planned and professional.

“You caused considerable shock and distress to members of the public who witnessed these burglaries.

"Obviously others are involved and I am invited to sentence you on the basis you were foot-soldiers or suppliers of equipment. You played important roles."

Speaking after the pair were jailed, Detective Inspector Ian Williams said: “The names of Loring, Ashman and Fregis featured prominently in the 13 jobs we have cleared up.

“I think they featured very heavily in the organisation and that was reflected in these weighty sentences.

“They have been there on jobs or as part of the planning and organisation.”

Ashman, Loring and another man, Corey Fregis, attacked Bruford on January 21 last year.

Their stolen get-away car was abandoned in nearby Wish Road.

Boiler suits the gang had been wearing, and a balaclava, were later found hidden in a drain in Lower Street, East Dean, near Eastbourne.

The previous month Ashman had been arrested and bailed in December 2007 after an attempted burglary at a clothes shop in Chichester.

A stolen white van, with false number plates, stopped outside Dartagnon's, in St John's Street, at about 5am.

The shop door was damaged but nothing was stolen and the van was found abandoned nearby.

A sledgehammer and crowbar was found inside along with a cola bottle with traces of Ashman's DNA.

Ashman, 24, of Carshalton in Surrey, was sentenced to seven and a half years yesterday after admitting the Bruford burglary, another burglary and the attempted burglary at Dartagnons.

Thomas Loring, 25, of New Cross, London, was given five-and-a-half years after admitting to the Bruford raid and a £170,000 burglary at a jeweller in Kensington, London.

Fregis, 20, from Peckham, was sentenced last October for his part in the Bruford raid and crimes in Southampton and Maidstone.

DI Williams added: "Sussex Police took the role of lead investigative force for Operation Heathcote and has had significant success in bringing to justice a number of criminals involved in this type of crime across the region.

“These were violent attacks on property, motivated by greed where members of staff have been traumatised.

“The sentences handed out send a clear message that you can expect to go to prison for a long time for such offences."