Cash box snatched off guard in street

Masked robbers snatched a cash box from a security guard in a Smethwick street and then fled in a waiting getaway car, police said today.

The two balaclava-clad robbers ran up to him outside Bearwood Neighbourhood Office.

The guard had arrived in a cash van collecting cash from the Sandwell Homes office in Reginald Road.

The masked men took the box, containing an undisclosed amount of cash, and fled in a silver four door car.

A car recovered in nearby Addenbrooke Road soon afterwards has been sent for a forensic examination. The robbers were not armed and the guard escaped unhurt.

But police said he had suffered a "frightening ordeal" and urged for help in catching those responsible as they had "no place in Smethwick."

Staff in the office activated an alarm which alerted police but the thieves had fled before they arrived.

Many residents in Reginald Road were unaware of what had happened at around 4pm on Friday.

Maintenance fitter Colin Smith said: "I saw the police car at about 5pm but there were no signs of anything. I had no idea what had happened there and just assumed someone had been playing up."

The damaged cash box was found by the nearby Uplands Manor Primary school.