Man left with '˜life changing' injuries after van robbery in Rugby

The victim, who is a man from North Warwickshire, was working at a local car showroom yesterday (Tuesday) when he was contacted by the suspect who asked if he could test drive a Volkswagen Transporter van.

The victim arranged to pick the suspect up from the car park of The Pheasant pub in Withybrook.

From there they drove to Galliford Try Construction on Leicester Road where they planned to swap over allowing the suspect to test drive the van.

When the victim exited the vehicle, the suspect locked him out and went to drive off before colliding with the victim and dragging him about 10 metres down the road.

After the collision the suspect left the scene in the direction of the A5.

The incident occurred at around 2pm.

The victim has suffered serious injuries to his leg, torso, head and back and is currently in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

The suspect has been described as being a short man, of slim build with a shaved head.

The van is a blue Volkswagen Transporter 2.0 TDI registration WJ13 FXW. Following the collision it is possible that there will be damage to the front and underside of the van.

Detective Inspector Jon Belcher said: “This was an extremely serious incident that has left a man with horrendous injuries that are likely to change his life.

“At this time we’re keeping an open mind as to whether the suspect intended to injure the victim or whether this was a robbery gone wrong.

“Either way, I believe someone out there has some information that will help us to identify the man responsible and I would urge that person to come forward.

“Also, I’d appeal for anyone who witnessed the incident or thinks they may have seen the vehicle involved to contact police as a matter of urgency.”

If anyone has any information that could help the police with their investigation should call 101 and quote incident 176 of 17 January.

Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org