Regional reporter David Blackmore has just had one of those moments all reporters dream about - being witness to a news story.

He was walking along a street when a car screeched to a halt and a gang of hooded men bearing sledgehammers got out. They then smashed a jewellery shop window and made off with their loot.

Blackmore was forced to dive for cover as the car headed towards him, but he was quick thinking enough to get some pictures.

And the resulting shot graced the front page of his paper, the Eastern Daily Press, the following day, as shown here.

Blackmore, who was quoted in the resulting news story, later wrote in a blog: "For about ten seconds, I was quite literally frozen to the spot."

But not so frozen that he didn't reach for his phone and snap away. Soon after, he walked into a post office to pay his road tax and asked himself: "Did that really just happen?"

Sources: HoldTheFrontPage/Eastern Daily Press