More than 100 violent attacks in West Midlands betting shops

Malicious wounding, causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and assaulting a police officer are some of the offences investigated.

There have been 110 violent crimes at betting shops in the region since 2014, with 21 in the Black Country.

Fourteen of the offences were in Wolverhampton, four were in Walsall, two in Sandwell and one in Dudley.

But Birmingham came top with a staggering 83 incidents at the bookies.

There were six recorded offences in Coventry.

The figures were revealed through a Freedom of Information request by the Liberal Democrats.

Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: "This violence is down, in part, due to Fixed Odds Betting Terminals. This is something we are seeing in the West Midlands and across the country. These machines are highly addictive.

"They inevitably lead to customers losing more than they can afford and losing control. The government recently dropped a review into these machines and now many more people will pay the price."

West Midlands Police has piloted 'Bet Watch' in Coventry, where information on criminal offences or abusive punters is shared with bookmakers and police, with a ‘banned from one, banned from all’ policy.

Superintendent Richard North said: “We understand there can be a mixture of emotions inside a bookmakers but it is never acceptable to carry out criminal or anti-social behaviour.

“Those who commit such offences face a criminal record and through Bet Watch we will work together to catch those responsible and ensure that staff and other customers feel safe in their surroundings.

“By bookmakers sharing information it can help identify anyone suspected of such behaviour quicker and increase the odds of tackling issues early."

Peter Craske from the Association of British Bookmakers said: "We do not tolerate any criminal behaviour in our shops and always work closely with the police to bring any perpetrators to justice.

"There is no link between any single product in a betting shop and crime, and crime in betting shops is declining. The number of incidents in betting shops in the West Midlands has declined from 37 in 2014 to 26 in 2016 – less than one incident every two weeks across all West Midlands betting shops.

"As well as successful local Bet Watch schemes where information is shared quickly and in partnership with local police teams, our shops work to the guidelines set out in the Safe Bet Alliance.

"Only last week we saw five people banned from 24 betting shops in the West Midlands for anti-social or criminal behaviour, as a result of bookmakers, West Midlands police, local authorities and the Gambling Commission working together to make betting shops even safer for our customers and staff."