Reward to catch masked men who attacked Kimberley home owner with hammer during terrifying £1M burglary

A male home owner was assaulted with the sledgehammer when he attempted to confront the intruders during the burglary in Knowle Road that resulted in a loss of nearly £1 million in terms of the stolen valuables and cost of repair work.

A number of high-value watches and designer handbags were stolen after five masked men wearing dark clothing smashed their way into the property shortly before 7.40pm on Thursday December 4 2025.

Some of the men were armed, with one carrying a sledgehammer and another carrying a pickaxe.

A male victim was viciously assaulted with the sledgehammer when he attempted to confront the intruders, struck to his back and knee.

After assaulting him and pinning him to a sofa, the attackers demanded to know the location of valuables and access to a safe.

Threatened with further violence, the victim was forced to get the safe keys and opened the safe. The offenders then filled a sack with a large quantity of luxury watches from the safe.

As this was happening, his wife was physically dragged upstairs by others from the offending group, where she was forced to show them where the rest of the watches were stored.

The offenders also took many of her luxury designer handbags along with a mobile phone, and a purse containing bank cards.

The reward is available for three months.

Lydia Patsalides, Regional Manager for the East Midlands area at Crimestoppers, said: “This was a shocking and violent attack on a family in their own home.

"They were confronted by five masked men, armed with weapons and prepared to use serious force to get what they wanted, leaving lasting trauma and injury behind them.

“You can tell our charity what you know about who is involved without ever giving your name or speaking to the police. Your information could help stop further violence and bring justice to this family.”

Detective Constable James Gill, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We are extremely grateful that the charity Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £7,500 for anyone with information which leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for this violent house burglary.

“This was a vicious and frightening incident and it’s very fortunate the victims did not sustain even more serious injuries.

“We remain determined to catch those responsible and we’re really grateful to Crimestoppers for putting up this reward and for their ongoing assistance – not just for this case but for all our investigations.

“Following the burglary, the offenders were seen on CCTV to enter woodland to the north of the property.

“Through automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera enquiries, a grey hatchback vehicle using false plates was identified on the nearby A610, driving in the Nottingham area between 7:21pm and 7:49pm on Thursday 4 December.

“We believe that, post-offence, the vehicle travelled out of Nottinghamshire and then went through Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Warwickshire, before entering the West Midlands region.”

Watches stolen include Audemars Piguet Royal Oak QP perpetual calendar and Rolex "Platona" Daytona Cosmograph, reference 126506.

Handbags stolen include Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Jimmy Choo, and Dior.

Contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.