A POLICE officer has told a court how he smashed a car window with his baton, believing the alleged muggers of George Reynolds were about to mow him down.

PC Ben Smith, 26, bravely gave chase, after the Darlington FC chairman was robbed of his £41,000 gold watch, the jury heard.

"The car lurched back about two feet. I feared the man might try and run me down," the officer told Snaresbrook Crown Court, in east London.

The 64-year old multi-millionaire, was with his wife Susan, 40, and her mother, when the robbers pounced.

PC Smith and his beat partner tackled the red Astra after spotting it speeding the wrong way up a one-way street near the crime scene.

Despite smashing the driver's window, they failed to prevent it speeding away and lost sight of it in a nearby street.

As they searched the area, they spotted Leoul Belete, 22, standing by the roadside.

"He said he was going home, but he appeared to be going in the wrong direction," said PC Smith.

Tayo Aladesuyi, 23, was seen crouching behind a parked car.

"I noticed that he was out of breath and sweating. I also noticed that there appeared to be small shards of glass on the right hand side of his coat," the policeman said. Officers searched Aladesuyi's house the following morning and found the stolen Rolex hidden inside an encyclopaedia.

Belete, of Sheriff Road, and Aladesuyi, of Linstead Street, both West Hampstead, deny robbing Mr Reynolds and attempting to steal from Mrs Reynolds on May 10.

The trial continues.