A HAMPSHIRE jewellery shop owner has told of the terrifying moment a gun was put to his head in an armed raid.

Dad-of-two Jon Quayle said he was “determined to stay alive” when two men rushed into Justice British Design Jewellery in Parchment Street.

In less than 10 minutes £250,000 worth of watches and jewellery were stolen from the shop in Winchester in the raid last April.

The three men who orchestrated and carried out the raid are now facing lengthy prison sentences after pleading guilty at Winchester Crown Court to one count of armed robbery and another count of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

Mr Quayle, 50, from Winchester, who has owned the shop in Parchment Street for 16 years, told how quickly the raid on April 15 happened.

Mr Quayle said “I was on my own and as I was opening up the shop I was rushed by two guys, one of which held a gun to my head.  “They obviously requested that I open the safe for them.”

“I opened the safe and got the jewellery and watches out, and they loaded them into their bags and they then rushed out of the shop.”

“I was determined not to die, I was calm when it happened I just had to manage it. I was conscious that I did not want them to get nervous and panic, I just wanted it to conclude.”

He added that the men fired the gun at one of the cabinets in the store as the incident happened.

Staff at Winchester Travel Service next door to Justice, saw the men who wore crash helmets come out of a van parked outside and alerted police immediately.

The robbers were quickly caught; the getaway vehicle which was originally parked outside the store was moved further along the road.

Mr Quayle believes this was due to him being “spooked” by the quick police response.

Police arrested one man in Parchment Street, two others were arrested after a tense stand-off in a loading bay in St George’s Street. The store was closed for rest of the day, but Mr Quayle was determined to reopen the following morning.

Mr Quayle added: “We were only closed for one day because part of it was I did not want to be beaten by it.

“I did not want to allow them to take my business from me in that sense I was determined to get open even though lots of my stock was gone.

“It was obviously a scary moment and these things do affect you but I am trying to ensure it affects me as little as possible.

“I was pleased that I was on my own and nobody else was in the firing line.”

“I think it was one of those circumstances where the community worked together to make sure that they were caught and we have had lots of well wishers calling by and asking after us and myself and other members of the team.

“The police were phenomenal with the way they dealt with the incident in the first place and the support they have given has been great and appreciated.”

David George, 21, of Central Avenue, Havering, east London, Domingo Nsita, 29, of Windsor Crescent, Wembley, west London, and Joshua Tiloye, 22, of Featherstone Close, will be sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on July 29.