€200,000 worth of jewellery stolen in daring robbery at five-star hotel near Spanish Steps in central Rome.

A man posing as an air conditioning technician stole €200,000 worth of jewellery from a room at Rome's five-star Hassler hotel at the top of the Spanish Steps, according to Rome newspaper Il Messaggero.

The thief knocked on the door of a luxurious suite of rooms in which a Brazilian couple were staying, on the evening of 25 September, informing them that he was there to fix the air conditioning system.

The unsuspecting couple presumed the man was a hotel employee and let him enter, Il Messaggero reports. The man then set about examining the walls, pretending to trace the whereabouts of tubes connected to the air con unit, and telling the couple that the tubing passed over the safe.

"Would you be so kind as to open the safe for me please?" he reportedly asked the couple, who obliged, while the imposter proceeded to distract them. He then abruptly told them his work was finished and made a hasty exit.

A few minutes later the Brazilian couple noticed that their bag containing rings, bracelets and precious jewels worth over €200,000 was missing, along with all trace of the fake technician.

Police have carried out a forensic investigation of the rooms and are examining security footage in the area, according to Il Messaggero, which said that the hotel declined to comment on the case.