Diamond dealer beaten and robbed

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/8488121.stm

Version 0 of 1.

A British diamond dealer carrying £700,000 of jewels has been robbed at gunpoint in a hotel in Ireland.

The 64-year-old salesman, believed to be from Southampton, was attacked in his room in the three-star Travelodge in Ballymun, north Dublin.

A suitcase containing dozens of diamonds was stolen from the man.

Police said three men broke into the room at about 1215 GMT wielding a gun and a hammer and beat the man before stealing the jewels.

It is understood the dealer gave chase despite being badly injured but gave up after the gang fled into a flats complex near the hotel.

Gardai said the injured man chased the thieves on to Shangan Road in the middle of Ballymun village before he alerted gardai.

He was taken to the Mater Hospital in the north of the city where he was treated for his injuries.

Ballymun, once one Ireland's most socially disadvantaged areas, has undergone massive regeneration in the last five years with old tower blocks demolished and replaced with improved social housing.