CCTV shows how burglar carried out £10m London jewellery heist

Mr Virag said he heard a banging during that meeting but put it down to the strong winds outside.

“Retrospectively, I can put two and two together, which at the time you don’t really think,” he said.

The thief was then captured on CCTV cameras moving around the house above them, struggling to open cases containing expensive jewellery before putting items into his bag.

Time stamps on one CCTV image released by the family indicate he narrowly avoided bumping into the maid when they walked through the same hallway seconds apart.

Asked if the thief left the house the same way as he came in, Mr Virag said he did, but added “I believe it was not his intention”.

The thief had entered a “high risk” part of the house and appears to have tried to leave via a rarely used guest room at the back of the property, Mr Virag said.

He continued: [He] tried to open the window from the inside but we have the safety on the sash window.

“The stoppers only allow you to pull it down 8cm and if you don’t have the right tool to unscrew the pins, you can’t. He tried but couldn’t succeed.”