Crooks make off with 22 pairs of designer specs.

STYLISH thieves created a spectacle in Stoke Newington when they smashed their way into an opticians and made off with 22 pairs of designer sunglasses.

The criminals struck at Askew eyewear in Stoke Newington Chruch Street in the early hours of Sunday October 10 and made off with the haul of Ray-Ban glasses.

A Gazette source revealed the shop’s owner was woken by her security company at 3.30am who told her that an alarm was going off.

When she got down to the shop the main window was smashed but nothing was missing.

The owner returned home but was woken again by the security company just over an hour later saying the alarm was going off again.

The woman arrived only to find the shop window suffering more damage and a rock, which was used by the crooks to smash thier way in, inside her shop.

After entering she noticed the thieves had stolen 22 pairs of Ray-Ban glasses.

Two pairs of the designer specs were spotted lying on the road, after the criminals dropped them making good their escape.

Ray-Ban sunglasses have long been the favoured eyewear for the rich and famous.

The company’s Wayfarer design has been worn by people such as John F. Kennedy, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson and Jack Nicholson.

Some of the glasses can fetch as high as around �120 a pair but it has not been revelaed how much the haul stolen from Askew Eyewear is worth.

Police appealed for residents to keep their eyes and ears open to any reports of sunglasses being sold for cheap prices.

A Hackney Police spokesperson said: “This is an unusual burglary and someone must have information which will assist police.

“If you have been offered cut-price Ray Bans in Stoke Newington in the last couple of days, they might be stolen, so please be wary and get in touch with police if you have are suspicious.”

Anyone with any information is asked to contact DC Jessica Smart at Hackney CID on 020 7275 3159 , Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via email at: hackneypolice@met.police.uk

For more information about policing in Stoke Newington visit www.met.police.uk/teams/hackney