Redditch police hunt for underpass robbers (From Redditch Advertiser)

Redditch police hunt for underpass robbers

4:10pm Saturday 8th September 2012 in Local

POLICE want help to trace four men, two of them on bicycles, who were involved in a robbery near a Redditch underpass.

It happened between 2-3am on Sunday, September 2, next to the underpass which runs under Battens Drive by the fuel station.

Shortly before the robbery the victim, a man in his 20s, met two young men he did not know who were on bikes at Matchborough Centre. They offered to show him where he could buy beer and took him to Budgens store on Battens Drive.

They then led him into an underpass where they started talking to two other men who they appeared to know. One of them had a brown and white pitbull-type dog with him.

While the victim's back was turned he was attacked, punched to the head and pushed into some bushes. He was then robbed of his wallet by the men with the dog and also had sever al cans of beer stolen from him.

The offenders then made off towards Winyates an m went to the garage to get help. He suffered scratches and grazes but did not require medical attention.

The robbers were all white and thought to be aged between 17 and 19.

The man with the dog was tall, slim, had short fair hair and a black tattoo on the right side of his neck. Of the pair with the bikes, one wore a white baseball cap and the other had curly dark hair and wore a grey, knitted cap with a small peak.

Detective Constable Stacey Keogh said: "This was a very unpleasant incident. The victim had actually given some drink to one of the men and was then set upon while his back was turned.

“The fact that two of the men had a dog with them and the other two were on bicycles suggests they are all local and people may recognise their descriptions. If you saw any of them around there, witnessed any part of the incident or think you know who was responsible, please call and help us to arrest these people.”

Anyone with information should call Redditch CID on non-emergency number 101, quoting 112-S-020912 or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.