CCTV captures Wolverhampton city centre hotel robbery
A brazen thief walked into a Wolverhampton city centre hotel and snatched hundreds of pounds in cash from a receptionist – but then dropped most of the money as he made his escape.
This CCTV image shows the hooded man inside the Britannia Hotel in Lichfield Street at about 10.35pm.
He walked behind the reception desk as the receptionist was cashing up and grabbed her by the waist.
Following a struggle he managed to grab several hundreds of pounds out of her hand.
But a quick-thinking colleague, who saw what was happening, chased after him as he ran out of the hotel's front doors.
The bungling thief then dropped most of the money as he fled.
Police say the member of staff was left shaken by the attack and said it had been a "traumatic incident" for her.
Officers today appealed for witnesses or anyone with information on the robbery, which happened on December 14.
They hope the images will be clear enough for someone to identify the robber. He was wearing a black jacket with the hood up, a baseball cap, black jeans and dark, white-soled trainers.
Pc Mike Sanders said: "This was clearly a traumatic incident for the member of staff involved. She was left shaken and upset by the offender.
"The CCTV is of high quality, and we are certain that he will be recognised by people in the community. I would urge them to do the right thing and come forward to speak to us."
Anyone who recognises the man in the images should contact CID at Wolverhampton police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
