Rugby council leader reassures Cawston after robbery and graffiti incidents

Cllr Michael Stokes spoke with a chief inspector from Warwickshire Police before taking to the Cawston Residents page on Facebook to address concerns over crime.

Residents’ concerns were sparked by an armed robbery which happened at around 10.15pm on Saturday January 20 at the Co-op store in Scholars Drive

He said: “As a Cawston resident myself, I remain convinced that Cawston and the surrounding areas are safe and the police, when needed, offer a high level of support both with pro-active and reactive policing.”

The chief inspector told Cllr Stokes: “The Cawston area has suffered from a number of incidents over recent weeks which are clearly very distressing to the victims and very concerning to fellow residents.

“These include the robbery at the local store and offences of graffiti which have included elements of racist abuse. In order to allay some fears I can confirm that the weapons used during the robbery were knives as opposed to firearms and that no one was physically injured.

“The investigation is moving forwards and a vehicle linked to the offence has been recovered by police.

“Robberies of this type remain thankfully rare but are representative of a small number of similar offences that have occurred across the county.

“Admirals and Cawston is currently showing a slight decrease across certain crime categories compared to this time last year. These categories include violence with injury, violence without injury, personal robbery, vehicle crime, bicycle theft and anti-social behaviour.

"Shoplifting, damage and arson are up by only small percentages.

"Residential burglary has increased more significantly but there are not large volumes of offences within the ward and even less so within Cawston itself.”

Cllr Stokes praised Cawston residents for their community spirit after a gofundme page set up to support staff at the Co-op following the robbery raised £520. To donate, click here.

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call Warwickshire Police on 101, or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or through their website www.crimestopppers-uk.org quoting incident 390 of 20 January.