THIEVES escaped with a haul of jewellery worth more than £40,000 after smashing a motorbike through the front door of Andre Noir jewellers in Lion and Lamb Yard, Farnham, late last Thursday.

Shop owner Andrew Black was alerted to the raid by police at around midnight on October 18 and forensics officers arrived at around 8.30am on Friday to scour the crime scene for evidence.

Surrey Police later confirmed officers were called to the Lion and Lamb shortly after 11.30pm and are appealing for witnesses after a "large quantity of jewellery" was taken.

Officers believe two motorbikes were used during the raid; one of which was left at the scene and the other was used as a getaway vehicle. The motorbike left at the scene is described as a light blue Honda touring bike with black pannier bags and a luggage rack.

Pictures on social media site Facebook showed a motorbike being fished out of Frensham Great Pond shortly after 11am on Friday, with officers “keeping an open mind” about whether it was used during the raid at the jewellers.

Investigating officer Sergeant Stephen Bullard, of West Surrey CID, said: “This was a fast and calculated burglary. Initial CCTV enquiries reveal that the two suspects spent around one minute in the premises before making off along West Street toward Crondall with jewellery believed to be worth in excess of £40,000.

“We recognise that this incident may cause concern and disruption within the local community. There will be a police presence in the area today while officers conduct enquiries, undertake forensic testing of items left at the scene and review nearby CCTV in order to gather evidence.”

Andre Noir is one of Farnham’s longest-running independent retailers, having had a presence in Lion & Lamb Yard for 34 years, and Mr Black said it was the first time the jewellers has been targeted by ram-raiders in its history.

The front door of the shop, which was only refurbished in 2016, was smashed off its hinges, with a silver Honda motorbike clearly visible lying on its side inside the store.

Forensics officers could be seen removing a second set of number plates from the bike - coming just weeks after police in Farnham appealed for sightings of “suspicious individuals” removing number plates from parked vehicles after a spike in thefts in the area.

The raid on Andre Noir also came almost exactly two months after Halifax bank in West Street was devastated in the latest in a string of ram raids to hit the area. The bank remains closed after suffering extensive damage to its Grade II Listed Georgian shop front.

The Herald believes the raid at Andre Noir is at least the 37th such ATM theft to hit west Surrey and east Hampshire since February 2017.

However, a police spokesman said the latest ram raid “is not believed to be linked with recent ATM thefts in the area”, adding: “We urge anyone who is offered jewellery that did not have packaging or at a suspiciously low price, to contact us.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call officers on 101, quoting PR/45180111619.