A DARING armed raid on a jewellers shop in Farnham on Wednesday morning has led to police appeals for witnesses. Three masked men, one wielding a machete, burst into Alexanders Jewellers in Castle Street just before 10 am. The robbers, all wearing balaclavas, threatened staff and escaped with around 20 expensive Rolex and Breitling watches after damaging a window of the shop. The gang drove to Alexanders in a red BMW saloon, later found on fire, about a mile away in Old Park Lane, near Folly Hill. The villains then made their escape in a dark- coloured people carrier. One of the robbers was wearing a light- coloured, three-quarter length jacket; the others were in dark clothing. Police, who were on the scene in less than four minutes following a 999 call, need to speak to anyone who was in the area at the time. They also want to talk to anyone who might have seen the men abandon the BMW and possibly transfer to a dark people carrier. The director of Alexanders, Steven Hunt, told The Herald that the 10 staff, who were not all in the shop at the time of the raid, had recovered from the shock, but the shop would remain closed for the rest of the day. It was expected to be back in business yesterday (Thursday). Mr Hunt declined to put a value on the stolen watches. The raid came just over a year after a gang of three ruthless young robbers grabbed jewellery worth tens of thousands of pounds from the same shop and terrified staff in the process. All three, who came from south-east London were given long jail sentences for a string of brutal robberies. Thomas Adenuga, 20, who had struck twice before was handed a mandatory life sentence, Olanrewaju Olatokun, 18, received a prison sentence of seven years and Charles Adeleye, 20 was jailed for nine years. Anyone with information should call Surrey Police on 0845 125 2222 and ask for the divisional crime investigation team at Farnham. "