IT LASTED just a few minutes but Philip Guest and his sister Karen can remember every second of the terrifying armed robbery at their family jewellers.
One moment it was a normal Tuesday morning in Beverley town centre, the shops had just opened and people were going about their business.
Then, two robbers armed with an axe and a shotgun burst into Guest & Philips in the town's market place.
Mr Guest spotted the masked raiders, wearing forensic-style suites, as they ran up to the shop.
He said: "I saw the gun, I saw the suits they were wearing and instantly I knew what was going to happen. I shouted to alert people.
"One pointed a gun at me, the second one ran straight through into watches and made everyone lie on the floor.
"The gunman wanted me to go through to the other room but I didn't want to go."
He looked down the barrel of the shotgun.
He said: "Although I have shotguns I was thinking that is a huge barrel.
"I was thinking what kind of gun is that. In reality I sort of knew. I had no time to be scared, there was no time to be frightened."
As the gunman turned his attention to the other room, Mr Guest hit a panic alarm, took a phone to call police and ran upstairs to alert people from an upper window.
He said: "I shouted to people outside. They were already recording it on their mobile phones and watching what was going on. I shouted down for people to get the police that was my main concern. I knew I couldn't really do anything with them both having guns.
"I really wanted to have a go at them but no one wants to risk having their stomach blown away with a sawn off shotgun. It really was not worth it. People kept calm, we didn't want to accidently set the trigger off. It is only property, people's lives are far more important."
Downstairs, Mr Guest's sister Karen and three staff had been ordered to lie on the floor, as glass display cabinets were being smashed open.
Miss Guest had been the victim of a violent armed robbery at her former jewellery shop in the town in 1990, when she was tied up and kicked in the head.
This time, the moment she heard her brother shout out a warning she know something was wrong.
She said: "I can't really remember what he said but I realised something was wrong.
"I thought at the end of the day it's our responsibility, so when I walked round the corner into the gunman I didn't know really what I was walking into.
"Then it unfolded very quickly. They were shouting 'get on the floor, get down'. He was pointing the gun. I thought 'just do as you're told, live to fight another day'. Everyone was very sensible and did what they were trained to do.
"The guy with the axe was a little bit more scary than the guy with the gun. You could see people at the windows filming on their phones. They were holding their mobiles, I thought 'that's great they're getting it all'."
She could also hear her brother and a colleague running around upstairs.
She said: "I was pleased they were doing something. It was a chance someone could save us.
"All I was trying to do was remember as much as I could. Having been through an armed robbery before, I know it's a case of remembering as much as you can to help police catch them."
As the armed robbers were about to escape with more than £200,000 worth of watches, Mr Guest was looking for something he could hit them with.
He said: "I could hear the smashing glass.
"They were smashing boxes to get the watches out and smashing counters. I looked out of the window and saw there was a car waiting there.
"When they ran out they pointed the gun at our delivery man to ask him to move his van. I couldn't recall seeing that. I got a heavy stoneware umbrella vase and as they ran out I launched it on to one of the robbers. It hit him on the shoulder, he looked up at me. Unfortunately it didn't knock him out. It would have done if it had hit him on the head."
The robbery was over in minutes but when he replays it in his mind it seems much longer.
Mr Guest said: "I think you remember every second of it. We all do. You can recall every little incident. It was probably three minutes, it seems like three quarters of an hour in your mind."
Miss Guest said: "Time stands still in those instances. It's like an accident in a car, you can see it unfolding before your eyes but time goes very slowly.
"This is my second armed robbery and I think you just have to move on and move forward. We have more security measures in force to protect ourselves. I think worse things happen."
It was soon business as usual at the jewellers, where Mr Guest and his sister are partners with their parents in the 48-year-old business.
Mr Guest said: "Once we had permission to sweep up the glass and carry on we kept part of the shop open.
"All our staff have been incredibly stoical. We have got over it.
"It was shocking but on the other hand no one was hurt and worse things happen. It's no good thinking what could have happened.
"We were inundated with messages of support, people coming in the shop, sending cards, flowers and chocolates.
"The fact that we have talked about it to so many people is probably its own therapy."
'We were already very vigilant'MARKET towns like Beverley could be seen as a soft target by criminal gangs, forcing jewellers to step up security.
Guest & Philips has tightened security after the first armed raid in 48 years at the market place jewellery shop.
Jeweller Karen Guest was previously the victim of an armed robbery at a former town shop in 1990 but the family's Saturday Market business had not been hit until now.
Miss Guest said: "We have to accept it's the way of the world now. It doesn't really matter what business you are in, criminal behaviour and these sort of things happen.
"I would like to say it's an isolated incident, I don't think anyone is immune."
Karen's brother Philip Guest said security has now been tightened further.
He said: "I think some of these criminal gangs who travel have seen county jewellers as a soft target because they think we have relatively less security.
"They have been travelling from town to town looking for soft targets, particularly the high-end jewellery and the top quality watches, which is what they want. Our security has been improved, although there is a limit to what you can do if someone has a shotgun."
Mr Guest said everyone at the shop is alert to the threat of crime.
He said: "I think we were already very vigilant but perhaps we are now extra vigilant.
"It's always in the back of your mind that it might happen to you but in some ways, optimistically, you always think it will never happen.
"We have traded for 48 years and we have never had anything like that happen here. In many ways our time was up.
"You are always aware of the fact because we have had snatch thefts and incidents in 48 years you don't go unblemished.
"But we have never had anything of an armed nature at this shop.
"However, we are a high street jeweller and we do stock high-end products and it's the kind of thing the underworld wants so inevitably you can become a target.
"If you in the centre of Manchester or Leeds you are aware these things go on, it's not that far away and criminals can travel."
Mr Guest praised detective work on the case.
He said: "The police have done an incredible amount of detective work, it's a tribute to the detectives that they have managed to secure convictions.
"It was a very difficult case to build given that they didn't leave any DNA at the scene.
"A lot of it is relying on mobile phone evidence.
"None of the watches were recovered and the second get-away car couldn't be traced.
"They didn't have a lot to go on but they have managed to build a case through technical data."
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