A gang of masked robbers broke into hire firm Shoot Blue yesterday evening, assaulting a member of staff and making off with up to £30,000 of kit.  

The six masked assailants forced their way into the north London premises at around 6pm. They took two DSLRs, a Sony EX3, some lenses and accessories, which Shoot Blue director Jon Howarth said cost in the region of £20-£30,000.

“They steamed in, hit one of our employees in the face and forced a couple of others on to the floor. The worst aspect was the violence - they didn’t get much gear at all, so in that sense it was very minor,” said Howarth.

“We had some expensive kit ready to go out on hire but they didn’t touch it.”

Howarth said the gang was most interested in the firm’s Red equipment, with one of the gang shouting to “get the Epic”.

But instead of taking the Epic camera they picked up a flight case which contained a few Red One accessories.

The police told Shoot Blue it was unusual for a broadcast equipment firm to be targeted in violent circumstances in broad daylight and that the raid was akin to the type of robberies carried out on high street shops.

Insurance firm Allan, Chapman & James urged resellers and hire firms to review their physical security measures and working practices for staff on their own.