Jewellery worth £300,000 was snatched in one of the biggest burglaries of its kind in Brighton and Hove.

Rings, necklaces and bracelets encrusted with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and gold, plus cash, were among the haul taken on Sunday morning from Selby The Jewellers in Meeting House Lane, Brighton.

It was the second major jewellery theft in the city in a month.

In April jewellery worth £135,000, contained in a briefcase, was stolen when the owner was distracted at a restaurant in The Lanes.

Gerald Selby, who has run Selby's for 14 years, said the thieves cleaned out a third of the shop's stock.

Mr Selby, 75, is a consultant to his wife Julia, 62, who owns the shop.

The couple were still adding up the loss last night. He said: "It is between £200,000 and £300,000, maybe more.

"But we're still open for business. We've got to. This has been very upsetting."

Police said there was no obvious sign of entry into the shop and The Argus understands the raiders had an intricate knowledge of the store's layout and security systems.

It appears they used keys to gain entry and were able to open two safes where cash and jewellery were locked away.

Security cameras had been pointed away and their tapes had been removed. The alarms had been switched off.

Mr Selby said it suggested someone had copies of the keys or another set existed he knew nothing about. He said: That's another reason it is so upsetting.

"This is nearly the last straw for me but my wife will get over it, I'm sure."

Staff discovered the burglary when they arrived for work at 9am.

Police believe the raid happened an hour earlier.Detective Constable Andrea Cassells said: "We are trying to piece together the events leading up to the burglary.

"We know it was very busy in Meeting House Lane and outside the Font and Firkin Pub in Union Street that morning and we ask anyone who was in the area between 8am and 8.50am to contact us."

Police believe this was the largest haul of its kind in years.

In 1998 a grandmother was jailed for three months for stealing gems worth £9,000 from Selby's, where she worked.

The following year Mr Selby made headlines when he purchased cufflinks which had once belonged to disgraced former cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken.

The 18-carat white gold and platinum links with diamonds, emeralds and rubies, were one half of Aitken's undisputed assets, which were sold by Lewes auction house Gorringes.

They had been taken from his London home by accountants acting for his creditors and were on sale for £8,500.

Anyone with information about the Selby's burglary should contact Ms Cassells on 0845 6070999.