POLICE are appealing for information following a number of robberies that have taken place in Frome in the last few months.
A man, who the police believe to be local to the area, has been entering shops in the town and threatening staff before taking money from the till.
Oakville Care Centre in Badcox has been targeted three times since September last year and more recently Steve Bane Fabrics on Christchurch Street.
Sergeant Rachel Clark said, “We have released an image of someone we need to speak to in connection to the incidents. We believe he has information that could be of use to our investigation. We would like this person to get in touch with us, and we would like to hear from anyone who might know who he is.
“He is described as white, approximately 5’7″ to 5’8″ tall and of slim build. He was wearing a dark hood, a dark scarf around the lower half of his face and dark glasses covering his eyes. He was also wearing a dark, waist-length leather type jacket and dark denim trousers. On the left cuff of the jacket there appears to be a tag or motif and also on the left upper chest area there is a motif.”
Sergeant Rachel Clark told the Frome Times, “There must be someone who saw this man around the time of the most recent incident in Christchurch Street. The schools were just emptying and there would have been a lot of people around. He was wearing sunglasses which considering the dull weather, isn’t normal, so he may have caught someone’s attention.
“We urge retailers to be on guard as although there haven’t been any further incidents, the man is still out there. We would encourage shop owners to reassess their security measures; check that your CCTV is working and is up to date, check your doors and windows, make sure your staff are fit and healthy enough to deal with this sort of situation if it occurred when they were working, make sure they know what to do.
“There isn’t a particular set of instructions for this situation but the most important points are firstly, keep yourself safe; your personal safety is more important than money in the till so don’t put yourself in any danger. Then call 999 straight away and report what has happened, and then finally secure the evidence. Lock the doors and don’t touch anything because the forensic evidence is very important to the investigation.
“Whoever this man is, he’s not very clever. He has committed a very serious offence and because he used a crowbar and a knife in the robberies, he will be going to jail for several years, and all for a few hundred pounds.
“Our enquiries are still on-going and we would like to hear from anyone who has any information.”
Owners of Steve Fabrics, Steve and Deony Bane said, “We would like to urge every business in the area to be on your guard because it could happen to anyone. He obviously isn’t worried about the amount of staff in the shop because there were three people in our store when he came in.
“Make sure your security systems are up to date and you are prepared and don’t think it wouldn’t happen to you, because it might do.”
