Man jailed for trying to snatch tourist's £250k watch

A prolific thief who was caught red-handed trying to snatch a £250,000 watch from a tourist in central London has been jailed for more than two years.

Brahim Keddad, 29, targeted Chinese visitor Sun Tao from behind in St James's, grabbing his shoulder and trying to wrest the Richard Mille watch from his wrist.

During the struggle, Tao was shoved to the ground, suffering injuries to his knee and arm before managing to break free and run away.

Keddad, a French national, was sentenced on Friday to 28 months in prison after admitting attempted robbery. He will serve half of his sentence in custody and is expected to face deportation proceedings upon his release.

Southwark Crown Court heard how the victim had been walking near Bury Street at about 15:30 BST on 30 April when Keddad pounced on him, shouting: "Watch, give me your watch."

Keddad turned to flee but was immediately detained by plain-clothes Metropolitan Police officers who had been tailing him after noticing him acting suspiciously in nearby Mayfair.

In an impact statement read to the court, the victim said the ordeal had left him feeling anxious and afraid to walk around London alone or wear valuable items in public.

Passing sentence, Judge Nicholas Ainley said the victim "must have been terrified by the suddenness of what happened to him, and the force used on him".

Praising the intervention of the undercover officers, Judge Ainley told Keddad: "I salute their skill in spotting you at an early stage. It's plain from what happened that you were on a mission to rob and saw a target in Tao."

The court heard that Keddad, of Islington in north London, had more than 20 similar convictions across Europe, including 19 for theft in Spain.

He is also wanted in Belgium, where he was sentenced in his absence to three years in prison for theft and forgery. In January, Keddad received a community order for an attempted theft at King's Cross station.

His defence barrister, Elizabeth Garcia, told the court that her client had turned to crime to pay off gambling debts and to send money back to his ex-wife and young daughter in France.

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