Brave members of the public have been praised for chasing and capturing two teenagers who attempted to rob a jewellery store in Edgware.

Onlookers chased down Momin Hassan, 17, and Tajwar Shah, 16, after they smashed the window of Vinsons Jewellery Store and then held them until police arrived.

Hassan, of Devonshire Road, Mill Hill, was yesterday given a four-year sentence while Shah, of St Edmunds Drive, Stanmore, was locked up for three-and-a-half years at Wood Green Crown Court.

They both pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to robbery and possession of an imitation firearm. Hassan also pleaded guilty to possession of a stun gun.

The two teenagers can now be named after the judge lifted reporting restrictions preventing them from being identified.

The pair targeted Vinsons Jewellers in Station Road, Edgware, at 11.20am on November 16 last year.

The teenagers, one armed with a hammer and one armed with a gun that fired blanks, approached the front of the shop and smashed a window with a hammer before trying to steal items.

They were then challenged by a female staff member and a struggle broke out, during which Shah fired the gun in the air.

Passers-by and other shop workers saw what was happening and chased the teenagers along Station Road.

During the chase, Shah again fired the gun, this time in the direction of his pursuers.

Despite risking their own safety and unaware the gun was firing blanks, the members of the public continued to follow the suspects and saw them in the car park of a neighbouring block of flats where they were changing their clothes.

The robbers fled back along Station Road where they were caught and held until police arrived at the scene and arrested them.

Officers searched the scene and found a bag containing a stun gun and the key to a car parked nearby.

The car, a blue Mercedes coupe, was found to have false number plates and had been taken from a relative without their knowledge.

Detective Constable Tim Fines, from the Flying Squad based at Finchley, said: "The judge has commended the bravery of those members of the public who pursued and detained these two men - I would like to reiterate this praise.

"Thanks to their efforts, and the efforts of officers who attended the scene, two dangerous men are behind bars."