Two arrested after store manager threatened during robbery

Two men have been arrested after they threatened a store manager who had tried to stop the thieves.

Shortly before 9.30am on Tuesday morning (January 3), the men entered Heron Foods in Jersey Street, Newark, filled a shopping trolley with £80 worth of washing detergent and a £4 bottle of wine and then walked out without paying.

When the store manager confronted one of the men in the car park and grabbed the trolley the suspect pushed him and raised the stolen bottle of wine above his head and threatened the manager with it.

The suspect left the trolley with the manager but kept the bottle of wine and fled the scene in the getaway car with his accomplice.

It is believed the same car was involved in an earlier incident whereby a woman was threatened by two men when she caught them trying to break into her home in Grange Road, Newark.

Nottinghamshire police were called following both incidents and officers tracked down the getaway car in Albert Street, Newark, with two males inside.

Both men were arrested on suspicion of robbery and affray.

Sergeant Barrington Goffe, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Thanks to the positive action taken by our officers, we made two arrests shortly after the incident was reported.

“Shoplifting can have a serious impact on our local communities and businesses and such offending is made even worse when staff are threatened or attacked.

“We believe the incident is linked to an attempted break-in at a residential property earlier that day and our inquiries are ongoing.

“We will not tolerate this kind of behaviour and will continue to work closely with retail partners to ensure perpetrators are dealt with robustly.”