A DARING burglar scaled the front wall of a Barbican antiques shop and made off with more than £26,000 worth of jewellery, police have revealed.

Investigators believe the burglar either climbed up the front of Parade Antiques in New Street, or down a drainpipe from an adjacent property in a Spider-Man style raid.

He then managed to clamber over to the middle of the wall, balancing on a model shark sign nearly 30ft up and carefully removing a small pane of glass from a window just eight to ten inches wide, placing it on the sign before slipping through the tight gap.

Once inside he carefully crept over ornaments and statues — moving a number of security cameras as he went — before slipping down onto the floor by the jewellery cabinets. The alarm system was not set off.

Shop keyholder "BJ" said: "He was like a cat burglar — a cool, calculating character. He's taken quite a risk."

Investigators believe the nimble thief who hit several cabinets within the shop between 10.30pm and 11.30pm on Sunday night may have also cased the store the week before, sizing up the most valuable items and locations of security cameras.

Lead investigator, Detective Constable Carrie Newton, said CCTV footage taken from the store on August 27 shows a man taking great interest in a number of cabinets which held a variety of jewellery.

At one stage he was seen photographing items on his mobile phone and inspecting locks. An infra-red camera — the only one he failed to redirect while breaking in on Sunday night — also caught a similar looking man, breaking into the cabinets with a claw hammer.

Detective Constable Newton said: "Hundreds of pieces have been taken — rings, necklaces, broaches. The latest estimate is about £26,000 although that figure is rising as owners work out what's missing.

"While we cannot be absolutely sure it's the same man, it's very likely the man who entered on August 27 is the same as the one who burgled it on September 5."

Keith Rogers, another keyholder, said: "There's about 40 cabinets in that part of the shop, but he only targeted six. He then chose high-value items, taking some but leaving others."

One such item was a £7,500 18 to 22 carat gold pendant with emeralds and diamonds, made from an Indian headdress broach circa 1880.

"BJ" added: "I think he was stealing to order. The CCTV footage shows him looking at certain items, making calls and taking photos.

"We said in the shop after viewing the CCTV, he's got a B plus for effort, but a D minus for not putting on a mask. He obviously forgot about one of the security cameras."

Lynne Bonnet, 62 from Plympton, estimates she has personally lost between £10,000 and £20,000 of jewellery which she had on sale in the shop.

She said: "We've been collecting for around 25 years. They're all one-offs, old and unique — that's what we pride ourselves on."

Close to tears, speaking from the scene of the burglary, she added: "They can't be replaced. We've no insurance — we've lost the lot. Some of the stuff is mine personally, so I might get something back. But the rest, we've lost forever."

Detective Constable Newton said: "There would have been a lot of people around the Barbican at that time, out for meals or in bars. Someone may have seen the man with the bag, acting suspiciously. We would urge them to come forward."

The man was described as slim, with dark hair and a small tuft of hair under his lower lip. On Sunday night he wore trainers with reflective strips, a zip-up hooded jacket, black gloves and carried a holdall.

Anyone with information about the theft or are offered the items incident should call police on 08452 777444 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 quoting crime reference number EC/10/9233.