THE final member of a gang of travelling thieves has been jailed for his part in a £300,000 jewellery heist.

Iqrar Zamir, 22, has been sentenced to more than ten years for acting as a getaway driver in the armed robbery at Sunny Jewellers in the west end of Newcastle.

In April last year five people were jailed for a total of 50 years for carrying out the terrifying raid at the business on Tamworth Road.

A court heard how the thieves travelled from the North-West to carry out the smash and grab that lasted less than 50 seconds.

CCTV shown in court showed the moment one gang member posed as an innocent customer to gain entry to the jewellers in May 2018.

A staff member unlocks the door at which point the rest of the gang burst into the shop wearing balaclavas, gloves and carrying hammers.

They smashed the display cabinets with their weapons and stole jewellery estimated to be worth a staggering £300,000.

Smoke alarms in the shop were activated before the men fled the scene in a black Audi S5, leaving staff badly shaken but uninjured.

Usman Khan, 21, Shahzad Farooq, 22, Ali Askhor, 20, Shah Almaruf, 20, and Samantha Farrell-Blake, 45, were convicted and jailed for a total of 50 years.

Now Zamir, who was in HMP Oakwood at the time of his arrest and is from the North West, has been convicted after police identified him as the getaway driver behind the wheel of the Audi S5.

He denied any involvement but was convicted by a jury at Manchester Crown Court before being jailed for 10-and-a-half years recently.

Northumbria Police's investigating officer Detective Constable Steve Patterson said he was delighted to catch another member of the travelling gang.

He said: "This has been an extensive and complex investigation that has involved a number of different police forces.

“We were delighted to put five of the offenders behind bars last year, including the ringleader of the group Usman Khan.

“However, we knew others were involved and we had not been able to identify the getaway driver by the time the case came to court last year.

“But we did not give up and we have been able to identify Zamir as the final member of this travelling gang.

“He is now spending a significant amount of time behind bars and I hope this can now bring closure to the victims of this robbery.”

Zamir had denied conspiracy to commit robbery but was convicted by a jury.

All the defendants were from the North-West or West Midlands area of England.