COUNTY NEWS: CCTV footage of violent robbery released

Police have released CCTV footage in a bid to catch a man responsible for a violent robbery in a Sussex town.
PolicePolice
Police

At about 7pm on Sunday, June 14 the offender smashed his way into The True Crime Museum at White Rock, Hastings, spending several minutes using his feet and a hatchet to break open a door.

He filled bags with electrical items before leaving and turning his attention to the Pig in Paradise nearby.

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Again the man smashed his way in through a rear door but this time he was confronted by a female member of staff inside. The man forced the 61-year-old woman to the ground, grabbed her by the hair and dragged her outside the pub before threatening her with the hatchet and forcing her to hand over more than £100.

CCTV recorded both the break-ins as well as the offender calmly folding his coat, putting it over his arm and then leaving with the cash but ignoring the bags he had taken from the museum.

To watch the footage visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gfnJoBJ3W4.

He was 5ft 7ins tall and of slight or wiry build with a lean, chiselled face that was not clean shaven. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a blue bomber jacket, a blue woollen hat, light coloured trainers and woollen gloves.

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Detective sergeant Paul Graham said: “This was a terrifying incident for the victim and we are determined to find the man responsible.

“The man spent several minutes breaking into the museum and must have made a lot of noise so I am appealing for anyone who was in the area and heard what was happening or who saw a man acting suspiciously around the seafront pub entrance or the nearby fire escape access in Prospect Place before the attack.

“If you know anything at all, please contact us.”

A reward for information leading to the conviction of the man responsible is also being offered by the owner of the museum.

Anyone with information should email [email protected] quoting serial 1415 of 14/06, call 101 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111