CCTV footage of the raiders in the mobile phone repair shop

HAVE-A-GO heroes tried to fend off smash-and-grab raiders by throwing candles at them from a bedroom window as they broke into a mobile phone repair shop below. Neighbours were wakened by the sound of thieves as they prised apart metal shutters and then shattered the glass door to the store off Kilburn High Road in the early hours last week.

Flatun Bendo, who owns ETC Nokia Care, in Glengall Road, said: “They were throwing things at them out of their bedroom window. Throwing large candles, because that was the only thing they could find. But it didn’t stop them and they broke through the shutters, the glass, everything.”

He added: “They phoned the police, but the police didn’t come. They said they didn’t have any cars in the area. “It’s quite bad. It’s not safe at all, to let these guys do whatever they want and get away with it. Now they’ll feel stronger and stronger. “I think this was a test and now they will go on and do more, because the police did not respond.” Officers have since visited the store and collected evidence, including CCTV footage and a crowbar left at the scene.