A man who stole an injured woman’s handbag as she lay unconscious following a smash and grab raid at an exclusive hotel has been jailed.

Craig Edwards, 34, of Great Chapel Street in Soho, has been put away for 32 weeks after pleading guilty to theft at Westminster Magistrates Court on Friday (June 13) following a raid in the Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane last Tuesday (June 10).

Men armed with sledgehammers smashed a jewellery display cabinet at the Mayfair hotel popular with celebrities, shortly after 1.30am. Three men raided the famous hotel - where Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were once regular guests - while three others stayed on mopeds outside as watches and jewellery worth more than £150,000 were stolen.

Police on patrol spotted the crime and gave chase but lost sight of the men in the Shaftesbury Avenue area. They then came across a woman in her 20s in Cambridge Circus who had been struck unconscious by one of the mopeds and had her handbag stolen by Edwards. She was taken to hospital with leg injuries and has since been discharged.

The robbery has echoes of an ongoing police appeal from Hillingdon, where a Gulf War veteran who was laying injured after coming off his bike was robbed by a man who rifled his pockets.

One of the necklaces stolen in the Dorchester Hotel smash and grab

Police are still searching for the five other suspects involved in the raid.

Detective Constable Alex Flanagan, said: “We continue to appeal for witnesses and information following the robbery. We have yet to make any more arrests and I would like to hear from anyone who was on Park Lane or nearby who may have seen the robbery or the men making their escape.

“This was a well planned and thought through robbery and there may be people who know who is responsible and I keen for those with any information no matter how small to come forward and assist us with our investigation.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

CCTV of the men escaping on mopeds outside the Dorchester