Robbers wielding butcher’s knife rob Somerset c-store

Armed robbers wielding a bladed weapon likened to a “butcher’s knife” and a baseball bat robbed a grocery shop on in Somerset last week.

Local police announced they were seeking two men in connection with the armed robbery at at Champs Variety Store on Cambridge Road just before 11pm on March 8.

Police said the men demanded the two female staff hand over cash – taking an unknown sum from the store’s registers.

Retailer Sharrieff Wales, who owns several stores, said that staff at the West End shop had been left “a little shook up – maybe even more than a little” but added the women were unharmed.

Wales recalled that his Glebe Road outlet of Champs had also been struck in 2019 by armed robbers.

“It’s the second one – they caught me very early when I had the store there. I guess twice in four years isn’t horrible, but I am a glass-is-half-full kind of guy.”

Wales said he planned to change procedure so that “it won’t happen again” – including locking doors at 9pm at the 24-hour store. He said the cut-off point in alcohol sales meant the store would have a queue of customers at that time, likely to deter a would-be robber.

According to police, the suspects fled on a white motorcycle, licence plate CF587, riding east on Somerset Road. One was described as heavy set, with a limp, and about 5ft 8in tall.

He wore a black helmet with a dark visor, a grey rain jacket, black pants, black gloves and carried a bat. The second was said to be slim and 5ft 6in tall, wearing a black and white helmet with a visor and a scarf concealing the lower part of his face.

He wore black gloves and appeared to be armed with a kitchen knife.