Police link two armed robberies and attack
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DETECTIVES believe two armed robberies and a mugging that happened less than two hours apart in Runcorn are linked.
Police said a knife-wielding thug burst into the Co-op on Balfour Street at 2.40pm, threatened staff and demanded cash from the till.
He picked up a till and fled.
At 4.25pm, a robber entered Windmill Hill Co-op, approached the counter with a knife, demanded cash, then picked up a till and fled.
Investigators believe the same suspect may be linked to a mugging that happened in a subway near Norton Hill at approximately 4.30pm.
On this occasion the thug approached a 27-year-old woman, grabbed her handbag, emptied the contents on the ground and fled.
In all three instances, the suspect was described as a white man with pale hair and a local or Liverpool accent.
He was dressed in black with a black garment partially covering his face.
CCTV footage showed the male brandishing a knife similar to a kitchen knife. ●
No-one was injured and the resulting search involved a helicopter circling over the area south of Balfour Street.
Passers-by on Balfour Street said there were ‘half a dozen’ police cars in the area after the robbery.
Several police cars also attended Windmill Hill.
Detective Inspector Claire Coleman said: “These are serious incidents and we are committed to doing all that we can to trace the person responsible.
“Thankfully, nobody was injured as a result of any of the incidents; however the victims have all been left traumatised as a result of their ordeals.
“Inquiries into the three incidents are currently ongoing and we are following a number of lines of active enquiry, at the current time all indications suggest that the three incidents are linked.
“I’d ask anyone with any information in relation to these incidents to contact the team here at Runcorn on 101 so the offender can be brought to justice.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Cheshire police on 101 quoting incident number 523 of May 30.
Information can also be passed anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.