MORE than half a million pounds worth of watches and jewellery are alleged to have been stolen during a raid at a Bournemouth jewellers.

A Samurai sword and ammonia are also alleged to have been used to threaten a man at Franses Jewellers in Westover Road.

Seven people have appeared in court in connection with an allegation of armed robbery on Thursday March 14.

Two of the accused are from Bournemouth and five from London. They appeared before Poole magistrates on Saturday and were all remanded in custody to appear at Bournemouth Crown Court on May 16.

Sasha Nicola Hines, 52, of Knyveton Road, Bournemouth, is accused of conspiring with others at her home address to rob Tony Annette of Franses Jewellers.

Rowan McLaughlin, 31, of Tregonwell Close in Bournemouth faces the same charge, alleged to have been carried out in Knyveton Road.

Akil Tariq Ford, 26, of Powis Terrace in London is accused of robbing Tony Annette of watches and jewellery to the value of £571,000, jointly with others. He is also charged with allowing himself to be carried on a Yamaha motorcycle in Westover Road, Bournemouth on March 14, knowing that it had been taken without consent.

Rhys Dwayne Gregg-Ball, 26, of Hazel Grove, Sydenham, London, is charged with the offence of conspiracy to rob.

Darrius Ingram, 25, of Oxford Gardens, London, is charged with the joint offence of robbery. He is also accused of threatening Tony Annette with a samurai-style sword and driving a Honda moped dangerously in Westover Road, Gervis Road, Hinton Road, St Peter’s Road, Christchurch Road and St John’s Road on the same day.

Jonathan Oriba, 26, of unknown address, is charged with conspiracy to rob and Shaid Sharif, 27, of Church Lane, Tooting, London, is accused of robbery and driving a Yamaha motorcycle dangerously on roads including Westover Road, Gervis Road, Hinton Road, Bath Road, Old Christchurch Road and Horseshoe Common.

He is also charged with threatening a person with a weapon, namely ammonia.

Emergency services were called to Westover Road just after midday on March 14 to reports of an armed robbery.

Armed police were then involved in a large-scale search of the town centre, Springbourne and Boscombe areas. Forensics officers carried out inquiries at the scene of the incident in Westover Road.