article: A masked burglar stole vintage watches worth more than £200,000 from an antiques shop in a Mission Impossible-style raid by crawling along the floor to avoid setting off the infrared beams. The thief scaled a two-storey antique market before breaking into a rooftop vent and squeezing down a narrow shaft to reach the store. He picked three sets of locks and crawled on the floor ‘like a snake’ to avoid triggering infrared security beams. 'Like a snake': This CCTV footage shows how a masked thief avoided infrared beams during a raid on a jewellers in Hampstead, north London, by crawling around the shop in a 'Mission Impossible'-style heist . Mission Impossible: The burglar, who crawled around the shop on his front, spent just eight minutes in the luxury shop before fleeing with more than £200,000 worth of stock . Wearing a dark hooded jacket, jeans and Nike trainers, the burglar stole 124 rare timepieces before climbing back up the shaft and escaping in a waiting 4x4. The eight-minute raid, which has been likened to a Mission Impossible film, took place at the Vintage Watch Store in Hampstead, North London, on Saturday at about 9pm. Although the thief was able to bypass alarms and evade several CCTV cameras, he was captured on a camera hidden in the ceiling overlooking display cabinets. Crawling: The man and an accomplice returned the following night to try a similar break-in but were disturbed and fled . The man and an accomplice returned the next evening, but fled empty-handed after neighbours heard them trying to smash through the reinforced vent and alerted police. They left behind ladders, a screwdriver and a balaclava, which are being analysed by police for DNA evidence. The daring raid happened a week after the Hatton Garden heist where gems worth up to £60million were stolen by a professional gang who climbed down a lift shaft to reach the vault. Antique: The thief stole 124 antique watches worth more than £200,000 in the heist on Sunday night . Gold: Among the watches taken a 18-carat gold 1910 Swedish Royal Presentation Wedding Pocket Watch worth more than £12,000 . Another 18-carat gold Fusee Verge, which has an estimated value of £9,000, was also taken in the raid . Simon Drachman, who owns the Hampstead jewellers, said the raid on his shop was also carried out by someone who knew what they were doing. The 53-year-old said: ‘It was very much a Mission Impossible thing. He was extremely fit and managed to squeeze through a vent that is two feet high and wide. He cleaned up the counters and made sure everything was clear.’ He added: ‘These are rare watches and unique. They are not easy to find and he knew exactly what he wanted.’ The crime took place at shortly before 11pm on Sunday, April 12 at the Vintage Watch Shop owned by Simon Drachman . The business is a two-storey antiques market on Heath Street, which the thief accessed via a rooftop vent . Among the haul was an 18 carat gold Goliath 8-Day Swedish royal presentation wedding pocket watch made in 1910 worth £12,500; an 18 carat gold Fusee Verge watch by Thomas Earnshaw of London worth £9,000; and a gold Fusee Liverpool Massey 4 pocket watch made in 1824, worth £8,000. But Mr Drachman added: ‘These watches cannot go on the market for quite some time because there are only four or five key dealers, who all know each other.’
highlights: Thief stole 124 watches from Vintage Watch Shop in Hampstead, London .
  He scaled two-storey building before slipping through a 4sq ft roof vent .
  Then squeezed down narrow chute and snaked along floor to avoid beam .
  Owner Simon Drachman compared Saturday night heist to Tom Cruise film .
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