DIAMOND earrings worth £40,000 were snatched in a raid on an Abergavenny jewellers.

The thief, dressed as a construction worker, grabbed a tray of six pairs of diamond stud earrings from a shocked sales assistant and pushed his way past a pregnant woman and four elderly women who were in the shop at the time.

The theft happened at Martins Jewellers in Frogmore Street and the thief was last seen running up Lewis' Lane at around 11.40am, on Tuesday.

Police are urging shoppers who were in the town on a busy market morning to come forward with information.

Senior sales assistant Tracy McGrath, who works part-time at the jewellers, was left shaken by the incident, in which the thief grabbed the tray of earrings from her hands.

Tracy, aged 40, said: "I've worked here for 23 years and I'm a pretty good judge of character.

"When he asked to see the diamond earrings out of the front window I brought him to the top of the shop near the CCTV camera.

"Unfortunately he kept his head down.

"When he made the grab my stomach dropped and it did frighten me."

Detective Constable Mike Gore said: "He was a pretty distinctive character. He was dressed as a construction worker wearing a shiny, new white hat, pink-tinted sunglasses with pink frames, a lime green fluorescent sleeveless jacket and jeans. He was also tanned.

"He would have been running at some speed and it could have been quite a nasty incident if someone had got in his way.

"He was cool and calm, knew what he wanted and picked a busy market day for the robbery," added DC Gore.

Owner of the jewellers Alex Martin said there had been a similar snatch three years ago when a robber made off with about £30,000 worth of goods. An appeal in the Argus using CCTV pictures led to the arrest and subsequent conviction of a Cardiff man.

Anyone with information on Tuesday's snatch or anyone offered diamond stud earrings can contact police on Abergavenny 01873 852273.