A Waltham Abbey burglar and six other men have been jailed for a total of 64 years following a series of smash and grab raids.

Reece Dunford, 31, of Osprey Road in Waltham Abbey, appeared in Kingston Crown Court today (July 30) after he was found to have played a role in 10 robberies at high-end shops in the West End.

Dunford, who was arrested last year after trying to organise his own smash and grab, sometimes carried out the raids and other times handled stolen goods.

He was assisted on various occasions by eight others who were sentenced alongside him this morning.

One of his cohorts was Hatton Garden jeweller Yair Cohen, 71, of Walnut Court, Woodmill Road, Hackney.

In 2013, Dunford bought watches stolen during a raid on Selfridges in which disguised themselves in burkhas.

Dunford sold the watches on to Cohen.

The duo were arrested after Dunford attempted to conduct a morning raid on Mappin and Webb in the City.

Following instructions given to them by Dunford, Vincent Kamara, 28, of Camden, Boz Burbridge, 31 of Camden, David Mays, 33 of Bexleyheath, and Danny St Luce, 29 of Islington, drove up to the store on two high-powered motorcycles and used one of the bikes to burst through the doors.

Two of the men, believed to be Burbridge and Mays, ran inside still wearing their motorcycle helmets and armed with sledgehammers and an axe.

A third man, believed to be St Luce, waited outside.

The gang threatened members of staff before Kamara directed Burbridge and Mays towards the shop displays with the most valuable watches.

They smashed through the glass cabinets and made off with over £300,000 of Rolex watches, leaving the sledgehammers and an axe behind at the scene.

The watches were dropped off at a house linked to the gang in Islington.

Less than three hours later, detectives from the Met’s Flying Squad arrived at the address where Dunford and Cohen were caught red-handed in the living room surrounded by the stolen watches with price tags still attached.

Today (July 30), Dunford was jailed for 12 years for conspiracy to rob Mappin and Webb, conspiracy to burgle Goldsmiths in Colchester and Alexander McQueen, conspiracy to produce Class B drugs, and conspiracy to handle stolen goods from Pauric Sweeney, Selfridges, Prada, Jumeriah Carlton Tower Hotel, Watches of Switzerland, Mappin and Webb and Jimmy Choo.

Cohen was jailed for six years for conspiracy to handle stolen goods at Selfridges, conspiracy to handle stolen goods from Watches of Switzerland, conspiracy to handle stolen goods from Mappin and Webb, converting criminal property, entering into or becoming concerned in a money laundering arrangement and cheating the revenue.

Kamara was jailed for 12 years for conspiracy to commit robbery at Mappin and Webb.

For conspiracy to rob Mappin and Webb, Mays was jailed for eight years, St Luce was jailed for seven years and Burbridge was jailed for seven years.

Patrick Spencer O’Brien, 23 of Islington was jailed for 12 years for conspiracy to commit robbery at the Jumeriah Carlton Tower Hotel.

Sentencing of Dunford’s girlfriend Hollie Dowding, 25 of Osprey Road, Waltham Abbey and Rusudan Kritcheli, 49 of Walnut Court, Hackney for their part has been adjourned to August 19.