Four robbers, who were arrested by armed members of the Flying Squad as they prepared to carry out a heist in Marlborough, have been sent to jail.

They were part of a gang of 30 international smash and grab jewellery shop raiders dubbed the Men in White who were sentenced this week to a total of 225 years in jail.

The Metropolitan Police received a tip off that the four gang members were planning to rob the David Dudley jewellery shop in Marlborough High Street on Monday May 18 2009.

Officers from the Met’s famous Flying Squad even knew that the gang would be arriving in the George Lane car park in hired vans containing the high-powered motorbikes they intended to make their get-aways on.

Passers-by looked on in amazement as armed police pounced on the men, holding them at gun point.

Nicola Child, who had just left the nearby doctor’s surgery, told the Gazette: “I came out to find the place swarming with police. One chap was sat on the floor with his hands handcuffed behind him while an armed officer with a sub machine gun was standing over him.”

At Kingston Crown Court, where the trial of the 30 men ended with their sentencing this week, the four men were convicted of conspiracy to rob the David Dudley shop. Sentences for the gang ranged from two to 14 years.

The gang were dubbed the Men in White because they wore disposable white paper suits and gas masks on many of their raids as they used sledge hammers to shatter reinforced glass in jewellery shops.