Village shop staff confront raiders armed with hammers
Masked raiders armed with hammers burst into a shop in broad daylight but were sent packing by brave staff.
Two men wearing balaclavas targeted Budgens, in Pendeford Mill Lane, Bilbrook, wielding hammers and demanding cash.
But they fled empty-handed after being confronted by courageous shop workers.
One member of staff was assaulted during the attack and workers were said to have been left shaken by the incident, which happened not long after the shop had opened in the morning.
Staffordshire Police have now launched an appeal for information to try and catch the two raiders.
Anyone with information about the incident last Saturday at around 9am is being urged to call Staffordshire Police.
Police spokesman David Bradbury said: “At around 9am on Saturday two offenders armed with hammers entered the Budgens store on Pendeford Mill Lane, Bilbrook, assaulted a shopkeeper and demanded money.
"They fled the scene empty-handed.Colleagues from West Midlands Ambulance Service also attended the incident.
The offenders are described as white males who were wearing balaclavas and dressed in black.
“An investigation is under way and inquiries remain ongoing. If anyone has any information, please call us.”
A member of staff at the shop, who did not want to be named, said the attackers were ‘pushed’ by a worker before they left the shop.
He said staff were ‘shaken’ by what had happened.
One of the employees was treated by paramedics for his injuries but did not need to go to hospital.
Emergency services descended on the scene following the shocking early-morning attack in the normally quiet village near Wolverhampton.
West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman Jamie Arrowsmith said: “We were called to reports of an assault on Pendeford Mill Lane.
"We sent one ambulance to the scene and treated a man for hand and head injuries. The man was able to be discharged at the scene.”
The shop was the latest in the region to be targeted by armed thieves.
Masked men threatened staff with knives and a crowbar when they went into a Nisa store in Oldbury in Sandwell in May.
And the Co-op recently revamped its security system in a bid to combat robbers who had seen their shops as easy targets.
Motion detectors and updated CCTV systems are among measures which have been added by the food retailer in a bid to try and deter thieves.
Anyone with information about the Bilbrook raid can contact police on 101 quoting incident 233 of June 23.
Alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on the charity hotline 0800 555 111 or visit Crimestoppers-uk.org