Two men and a woman from Birmingham have been arrested in connection with a £15,000 robbery in the Cotswolds, following a cross-county police operation that used CCTV to track a suspect vehicle into Warwickshire.
Officers from West Mercia Police alerted colleagues in Warwickshire that a car linked to the robbery was entering their area near the M40 on Sunday, 6 September. The Stratford Safer Neighbourhood Team, working with BID (business improvement district) workers, checked the historic town’s CCTV and identified that the vehicle was heading towards Maybird Shopping Park, north of the town centre.
Vehicle spotted on shopping park cameras
The car’s registration was captured on Maybird’s cameras shortly after 11am, allowing police to pinpoint its exact location. Warwickshire Police officers, assisted by CCTV operators and BID wardens, moved in and arrested two men and a woman from Birmingham, seizing the vehicle.
Police said the car is suspected of being linked to other crimes in neighbouring force areas, and the arrests were the result of partnership action and cross-county intelligence.
Arrests and charges
A force spokesperson confirmed: “On Sunday (6 September), we were informed of a car coming into the county near the M40. Our colleagues in West Mercia Police had notified us that it was linked to a robbery of £15,000 worth of goods in the Cotswolds.”
The spokesperson added: “Shortly after 11am, the car’s registration was spotted on the cameras for the Maybird [Shopping Park] and joint efforts from the CCTV operators and the BID wardens told us exactly where they had parked up. Our officers moved in and shortly afterwards arrested two men, aged 18 and 20 from Birmingham on suspicion of robbery, and one 22-year-old woman from Birmingham for failing to appear in court for shop theft offences. We also seized the car, which is suspected of being linked to other crimes on neighbouring force areas.”
The two men remain in custody pending further questioning, while the woman faces separate proceedings related to the shop theft matter. The investigation into the Cotswolds robbery and potential links to other incidents is ongoing.
