THREE men have been arrested in connection with an armed robbery at a Burnley jewellers where one of the thieves was dressed in a burka.

The men, aged 19, 24, 26, were arrested in Bolton yesterday morning.

The robbery happened at Muzzaffar Jewellers in Brougham Street, Burnley on February 19, this year.

The shop owner was duped into opening the locked door by someone ringing the shop bell dressed in a burka.

As he opened the doors three men armed with a gun and baseball bats burst past him into the shop.

They smashed a number of glass display cabinets and helped themselves various items of jewellery.

The shop owner was left suffering from shock but was able to lock himself in the back office so was not hurt.

The thieves then fled the scene in what the police described as an old fashioned Mercedes in a beige or light gold colour.

Police said it was not clear from CCTV footage whether a man or a woman was wearing the burka.

Detective Inspector Simon Cheyte from Burnley CID said: “I can confirm that three men were yesterday arrested in connection with this incident and were being questioned by officers.”

A fourth man, also from Bolton, appeared at Burnley Magistrates’ Court yesterday morning charged with conspiracy to commit robbery.

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