Co-op store security increased after raids

Extra security guards and mobile patrol vans have been deployed to Co-op stores across the region following a string of armed raids.

The moves have been announced after masked raiders burst into a Co-op branch in Tividale – taking the total number of the company's stores targeted in the region to five in just a month.

Bosses at the food chain have brought in extra security guards to patrol stores, including late at night and early in the morning, in the wake of the raids.

These have seen Co-op stores in Wombourne, Brewood, and Tipton targeted in the past few weeks.

Other smaller supermarkets have also been hit by raiders and it is thought the same gang may be behind the attacks along with violent robberies at a newsagent and Spar shop in Dudley.

Thousands of pounds in cash and cigarettes has been stolen in the raids.

Midcounties Co-operative spokeswoman Louise Evans said supermarket bosses were working closely with detectives in the West Midlands and Staffordshire to help track down the culprits.

"We are aware of the recent robberies and have increased our already stringent security measures across our stores in the area. This includes regular patrols throughout the day by a mobile security team," she said.

"The welfare of our colleagues and customers continues to be of prime concern to us."

In the latest raid, three men wearing balaclavas raided the Co-op in Dudley Road West, Tividale, at just after 7am on Tuesday and threatened staff with a wrench-type tool.

One of the men stood in the doorway, while the other two filled a bin with cigarettes. They left taking the till and its contents with them in a blue Ford Sierra and headed towards Burnt Tree Island.

On August 17, two men armed with an knife raided the Co-op in Brewood and last month, the Co-op stores in Giggetty Lane and High Street, Wombourne, were both targeted by two men wielding axes.

Stores that have been hit

* August 28 - Co-op store in Dudley Road West, Tividale

* August 20 - Co-op in Union Walk, Tipton

* August 17 - Co-op in Brewood

* July 3 - Co-op, High Street, Wombourne

* June 23 - Co-op in Giggetty Lane, Wombourne