Three teenagers and a man were being questioned by police today after a daylight smash-and-grab raid at a city centre jewellers.
The four, aged 15, 16, 17 and 21, were arrested and held overnight catalog printing at Charles Cross police station following yesterday's raid.
Shoppers were stunned when a masked gang attacked Michael Spiers Jewellers in Cornwall Street, smashing reinforced windows with sledgehammers and apparently grabbing expensive Rolex watches.
The robbers fled when metal security shutters started to descend, and were chased by security men and passers-by.
The store praised the 'have-a-go heroes', describing them as showing "true Devon spirit".
Just 40 minutes after the raid, police arrested four men. Twenty officers in squad cars, and a force helicopter, pursued a black Ford Fiesta along the A38, stopping it with a Stinger device at Chudleigh Knighton. The four are thought to be from London.
The drama unfolded at 3pm when a gang startled shoppers by attacking the outside windows and inner 'arcade' panes at the store.
The shop's alarm system was activated and the front doors automatically locked, causing the outside security grill to start closing.
When the grill had closed to about head height, the four men, one only just escaping under the shutter.
But they had made a hole in one window and apparently escaped with Rolex watches.
They dropped one hammer and left another embedded in a window. Two others were discarded nearby.
Up to 11 people, plus security staff, chased the gang into the entrance of the Mayflower Street West car park, where a getaway vehicle was waiting.
Adam Spiers, store director, said: "All staff members were within the shop premises and unharmed, but obviously shocked and shaken.
"We would like to thank the brave Plymouth members of the public who immediately contacted the police, some even running after the fleeing robbers, and many others who offered assistance to both the police and ourselves.
"They were fantastic witnesses - an example of typical true Devon spirit. We would also like to extend our thanks to the Plymouth police who arrived on the scene so promptly."
Staff had watched in horror as the masked men hammered at the windows.
Teresa Oliver, from Stoke, saw the raid from the Quiksilver store opposite. "We heard shouts and saw four men smashing the windows with sledgehammers. They had their faces covered."
She said two men were inside the arcade entrance, attacking side windows, while others smashed front panes.
"They ran off and some men gave chase," she said. "They dropped one of the sledgehammers on the floor; someone shouted 'don't touch it'."
Shayne Kavana, who works in the next-door Panasonic store, said: "I ran to the front of the shop and saw a guy hacking into the window. He was all in black, including gloves and a balaclava. Everything the men wore, including bags they were carrying, was black.
"I told my colleagues to shut the doors and get the gates down to secure our shop. People were fleeing up and down the street.
"Seconds later I saw four guys run out carrying black bags. They turned into the alleyway into the car park, leaving a trail of sledgehamme
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