Vigilant public help in arresting two men for Notts shop thefts

Early reports from members of the public identified that there were three men running down a street in Sutton-in-Ashfield, allegedly fleeing from one of their attempted shop robberies, discussing very loudly the need to conceal their alleged possession of a gun.

Working on this information, armed officers were deployed to the scene to try and track down their movements.

While officers were searching the area, two men matching the descriptions were spotted on Westbourne Road by response teams, who quickly moved in to arrest both suspects.

Detective Inspector Pam Dowson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We want to thank the public of Nottinghamshire for their invaluable help in locating and arresting two members of this gang who’ve allegedly attempted to steal from three separate local shops.

“We are working closely with the shop owners to recover CCTV footage and gather further forensic evidence to help with the investigations in relation to these crimes."

Once arrested, one of the force’s police dogs and their handler picked up on one of the alleged offenders’ scent and located a jacket, which is understood to belong to the 35-year-old man, and a holdall, supposedly belonging to the 42-year-old man, that was stuffed full of unopened food items believed to be from the shops who had earlier reported the thefts.

The third man has not yet been identified.

Investigations are ongoing into the location and identity of the third man in connection with these robberies.

No firearm was recovered by officers in relation to these incidents.

The incidents happened between 16:30 and 17:00 in separate shop locations in Huthwaite, West Bridgford and Sutton-in-Ashfield on October 22.

Detective Inspector Dowson continued: “The collaboration with police, shop owners and the public has meant that we have successfully caught a gang that undoubtedly would have continued their spree.

“We are still making further inquiries into these attempted robberies in Huthwaite, West Bridgford and Sutton-in-Ashfield, therefore if anyone does have any further information that can help this investigation please contact 101 quoting incident number 512 of 22 October.”

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