Aled Jones robbed of £17,000 Rolex after teen thug attacked him and son with machete during terrifying daylight raid
TV’S Aled Jones was robbed of his £17,000 Rolex by a machete-wielding thug in a terrifying street attack.
Aled, 52, and son Lucas, 18, were left shaken near their London home.
The Songs of Praise presenter handed over the watch rather than put up a fight with the lad — alleged to be only 16.
Aled was said to have been targeted for his Rolex Daytona — with the raid similar to those carried out by a “Rolex Ripper” gang in the same area 18 months earlier.
A source said: “They were out in a nice part of West London.
“Aled was totally shocked as it came out of nowhere and all happened so fast.
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“The robber threatened him with the machete and demanded the Rolex. Luckily Aled was savvy enough not to put up fight for the watch while he was having a deadly weapon waved at him.
“The attacker had seen the Rolex and targeted him specifically.
“Although Aled was shaken afterwards, he was quite relieved.
“He was glad he and Lucas were not hurt and that they got home safely to the rest of their family.
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“You can replace a watch and everyone realised it could have been a lot worse.”
Ex-choirboy Aled and Lucas, the youngest of his two children, had been strolling around Chiswick, a few miles from the family home in Barnes, South West London.
His wife of 22 years, Claire — a circus trapeze artist — and the couple’s actress daughter Emilia, 21, were fortunately elsewhere.
A source said Aled gave up the expensive timepiece amid fears he or his son would be harmed.
He called police after the robbery at 5.30pm on July 7 and detectives nabbed a suspect within minutes. It was not known if the Rolex had been recovered or returned to Aled.
This Tuesday the family ventured to another part of London — Notting Hill, where they were seen clutching coffees on a stroll.
Our exclusive pictures show Aled wearing a less valuable Apple-style watch and putting a brave face on recent events.
Aled, from Bangor, North Wales, became a star at 14 when his version of Walking in the Air, from Christmas film The Snowman, reached No5 in 1985.
By the time his voice broke aged 16, he had sold six million records and sang in front of the Pope, the Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales, Charles and Diana.
Aled was made an MBE in 2013 for services to music and broadcasting and charitable services.
He is now a regular presenter of Songs of Praise and hosts a morning radio show on Classic FM.
Daughter Emilia is a rising star in her own right appearing in the acclaimed film CODA and Netflix series Locke & Key.
Aled has spoken of his love of watches in the past but said he preferred his luxury British Bremont timepiece.
He said in a 2016 interview: “It’s a Codebreaker watch that has part of the Enigma in it. It incorporates wood from hut six in Bletchley Park where Alan Turing helped shorten the Second World War.
“So it’s a huge part of history and it beats a Rolex or Cartier any day.”
Shock figures show 6,109 luxury watches were stolen in London last year, among 15,058 grabbed nationally.
Timepieces valued at more than £130million have been nicked in England since 2018.
Victims are often followed, violently attacked or threatened with knives, machetes or guns.
Experts say gangs stalk wealthy areas, with watches sold on for 40 per cent of their original value.
One gang dubbed the Rolex Rippers went on a 18-day crime spree in South West London over Christmas 2021.
Security expert Alex Bomberg, of Intelligent Protection International, has said luxury watches have become portable assets.
He explained: “They can be stolen to order or easily shifted on through the black market.
“If they’re stolen to order, it raises a number of issues.
“There could be street credibility for criminals who take a watch off a famous person’s arm and sell it to a collector who is happy to buy stolen timepieces.”
The Metropolitan Police told The Sun: “A 16-year-old was charged with one count of robbery. The charge follows a robbery on Friday July 7 on Chiswick Road.
“At about 17.40hrs a 52-year-old man reported he had been approached by a male who threatened him with a machete and demanded his watch.”
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A youth of 16, who has denied the attack, is set to face a trial next month.
Aled’s representatives were tonight contacted for comment.
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BOXER Amir Khan was held at gunpoint last year over his £70,000 diamond-encrusted Franck Muller.
Amir, 36, and wife Faryal were attacked as they left a restaurant in Leyton, East London.
He said: “You think the worst. Life flashes before your eyes.”
F1’s Lando Norris, 23, was robbed of a £144,000 watch in a Wembley car park in 2021.
Also that year, a gang held cyclist Mark Cavendish, 38, at knifepoint in front of his family and took watches from his Essex home.