Cawston Co-op hit by criminals once again

Residents took to Facebook community page Cawston Residents to report hearing a loud bang or explosion at around 3.40am this morning before seeing police cars rushing to the Co-op on Scholars Drive.One of the store's windows is shattered and the cash machine (to the left of the shattered window) appears to be damaged.

A witness described seeing two medium build males, dressed all in black, running very fast towards Bilton School and field carrying a white bin liner.

Officers arrived at 3.46am to find the front window of the Co-op smashed and an explosive had been used to open the ATM. Significant non-structural damage was caused inside the shop and an unknown amount of money was stolen.

Warwickshire Police says officers investigating the theft made an immediate search of the area in an attempt to locate the suspects and are appealing for witnesses who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously that could be connected to this incident.

Witnesses also report seeing a vehicle in the area of the Co-op at the time of the theft and officers are also appealing for witnesses who saw a blue Golf or a black Jeep driving at speed in or around the Rugby area containing three or four people that could have come from Cawston.

Any witnesses are please asked to contact DC 520 James in Rugby CID on 101 ext 6101. Information can also be provided anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The attack on the shop comes after staff at the store were subjected to an armed robbery on January 20 in which three men entered through the main entrance, threatened the staff and stole a large amount of cash.

Police said the members of staff were not physically injured but were very shaken by the incident.

The three offenders left the store in a blue Fiesta ST with partial registration LC66, the vehicle was later found abandoned in Charles Lakin Close in Barnacle.

The robbery prompted resident Daniel Day to set-up a Go Fund Me page - which saw £520 raised for the Co-op's staff.

The latest incident at the store happened hours after a member of staff took to the Cawston Residents page to thank residents for their donations to the fundraising page.

Staff at the Co-op voted to give the donations to their two colleagues who were at the shop on the night of the robbery and had lost personal possessions as a result.

On January 22 Cawston resident and leader of Rugby council Cllr Michael Stokes moved to reassure the public following the armed robbery.

He said: “As a Cawston resident myself, I remain convinced that Cawston and the surrounding areas are safe and the police, when needed, offer a high level of support both with pro-active and reactive policing.”

Cllr Stokes spoke with a chief inspector from Warwickshire Police

The chief inspector told Cllr Stokes: “The Cawston area has suffered from a number of incidents over recent weeks which are clearly very distressing to the victims and very concerning to fellow residents.

"Admirals and Cawston is currently showing a slight decrease across certain crime categories compared to this time last year.

"These categories include violence with injury, violence without injury, personal robbery, vehicle crime, bicycle theft and anti-social behaviour.

"Shoplifting, damage and arson are up by only small percentages.

"Residential burglary has increased more significantly but there are not large volumes of offences within the ward and even less so within Cawston itself.”

Click here to view the Go Fund Me page.