SHOPPERS leapt for safety during a high speed smash and grab raid on a jewellery shop in a busy town centre street.

Otley's popular Newmarket was packed with schoolchildren when the thieves struck just after 4pm on Tuesday.

Shocked pedestrians feared for their lives as the stolen red car raced along the street at speeds of up to 60mph.

Roaring to a halt at S Manning Jewellery, a passenger smashed a window to steal the contents of a display, before speeding off again.

Eyewitness Chris Holland said: "They could have killed someone, going up there so fast with all the school kids around."

And Brian Clark, of Ilkley, said he had been amazed by the speed of the burglary. "I put myself against the wall," he said.

"I just heard this tremendous bang and the next thing I knew, they were burning rubber."

Shop owner Simon Manning said the thieves failed to take anything of great significance. "They just made a tiny hole in the window and couldn't get anything," he said.

"I heard the noise and by the time I got to the window, they had gone. It must have been over in about 20 seconds."

The sheer number of people in Newmarket at the time of the incident meant there was 'a boatload' of witnesses, said police.

PC Paul Bayer, of Otley Police, said inquiries were now being made into the theft of the car, thought to be a red MG Maestro registration E773 DCX, in the hope that one crime would lead to the other.

"Everybody and his dog saw it happen, so we've plenty of witness statements to go on. Unfortunately, despite that number, no-one could actually identify them," he said.

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