Masked axeman steals cash in daylight Co-op raid in Wolverhampton
Armed police were in Wolverhampton this morning after an axeman raided a Co-op store in the city.
The masked robber demanded cash from stunned workers at the shop on Stafford Road in Oxley at around 10.30am this morning.
Staff were left shaken but unharmed as the raider escaped with money before police descended on the scene.
There was a large police presence in the area - including armed officers - in the wake of the raid, while the store was still shut at 1pm but was expected to reopen later.
A police helicopter was also hovering above the area as the hunt for the axeman began.
Neighbours were shocked by the timing of the attack early on a Sunday morning.
Bill Owen, aged 74, who lives nearby, said: "There were about four police cars, a helicopter and God knows how many police It has happened before, the shop got done a few years ago."
Neighbour Saleha Seedat said: "We didn't see what happened. We all came out when the police cars came. Some people were sat outside on their walls watching what was happening."
West Midlands Police have now appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
A spokesman for the force said: "Police are investigating an armed robbery at the Co-op, on Stafford Road in the Bushbury area of Wolverhampton at around 10am this morning.
"A masked man armed with an axe entered the store and demanded money from staff.
"A quantity of cash was taken and the man escaped.
"Although shaken no-one was injured.
"Anyone with information is urged to call 101; quoting log number 911 of 19/08/18."
The robbery comes just weeks after the Co-op further up Stafford Road, at the Vine Island, was ram-raided.
Crooks smashed through the front of the shop with a car before getting away with a cash machine.
A recent Express & Star Crime Survey revealed thousands of people are concerned about the surge in crime in the area.
