Two men in London have been arrested after escaping down the motorway with jewellery stolen from a Swindon home. 

Neighbours called the police shortly after 5.45pm on Sunday after hearing glass being smashed at a house in Marlborough Road, and noticing two people acting suspiciously at the address. 

Brave neighbours then disturbed the men in the process of the burglary, who made off with the "high-value" jewellery in a vehicle heading eastbound on the M4.

Details of the vehicle were given to police who circulated them to neighbouring forces. 

Hours later, it was tracked to Lambeth in the capital where Metropolitan Police stopped it and arrested the two inhabitants at roughly 9pm.

Several items, including jewellery, watches and cash were located inside the vehicle and seized. 

The two men were then taken to Gablecross station where they remain in custody

Inspector David Tippetts said: “We’d like to thank the people living nearby whose vigilance enabled us to pass the information on to colleagues at the Met who were then able to locate this vehicle quickly, prevent further offending and seize a significant amount of high-value jewellery believed to have been stolen during this burglary. 

"Anyone with further information should call 101 and quote crime reference number 54220122618.

"Alternatively, call CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."