Thames Valley Police is appealing for witnesses after a series of armed robberies in Milton Keynes.

The first happened at the Post Office store in Bradwell Road, Bradville, on 18 November 2010 at about 10pm.

The second happened at Tesco Express in Holst Crescent, Old Farm Park, on 16 December 2010 at about 10.40pm.

The third was at the General Handy Store in Oldbrook Boulevard Oldbrook, on 17 December 2010 at 8.50pm.

The fourth was at Handy supermarket in Brookside, Hodge Lea, on Monday (03/01/2011) at about 7.19pm and the fifth was at the Londis store in Annesley Road, Newport Pagnell, on Wednesday (05/01/2011) at about 8.30pm.

In each incident, a group of between two and five offenders have entered the stores and threatened the cashiers with a knife and in some cases with what is believed to be a handgun. They have then stolen cash, cigarettes and alcohol.

During the most recent robbery at the Londis store, the cashier was threatened and then locked in the store room of the shop. He was found after members of the public came into the store and heard banging coming from the store room.

The offenders are all black and were wearing dark clothing with the bottom half of their faces covered to conceal their identities.

Det Insp Neil Dodds, leading the investigation, said: “We believe that the offenders are visiting the stores they want to target before the robbery takes place. I would ask members of the public and people working in local stores to report any suspicious behaviour in or around the store to police. We would also like to hear from anyone who may have witnessed these crimes or saw the offenders making their getaways.

“I would like to stress that nobody has been physically injured during these robberies and our neighbourhood teams and crime prevention officers are visiting stores across the city to give security and safety advice to staff. The message is a simple one: be extra vigilant, report any suspicious behaviour to police and most importantly, if a robbery is in progress be compliant and don’t risk your own safety for the sake of the business.

“As part of the investigation we are looking at other similar offences outside of Milton Keynes and liaising with neighbouring Forces to catch the people responsible and bring them to justice.”

UPDATE

Four men were arrested this morning (07/01/2011) on suspicion of robbery in connection with these offences and are currently in police custody.

If you have any information about these incidents, please contact Det Sgt Neil Robinson at Milton Keynes police station via the 24-hour non-emergency number, 0845 8 505 505. If you do not want to speak to the police, call the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.

You can also give information to the police in person by visiting any police station.

07 January 2011