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Scrapyard armed robbery 'was a pro job'
By Pete CastleOctober 10, 2011
DETECTIVES are trying to track down a cyclist, students and builders who may hold clues about an armed robbery.
The appeal for witnesses comes after armed masked men robbed the Deane Wood scrap metal yard in a 'targeted and planned' attack in Aldershot on Friday morning (October 7).
Detectives working on the case said they needed help to identify three or more witnesses who may have seen the Vauxhall Vectra involved, after it left the Stubbs Lane industrial estate. The car was later set on fire in woods off Lock Road.
Police are looking for a cyclist who stopped at the scene of the fire just after 11:50am. He spoke to a woman, saying he had seen the Vectra leave the scrap yard.
The cyclist looked in his late 50s, around six feet tall, with long greasy hair and wearing a black beanie hat. He wore a jacket with high-visibility parts and carried a bag with black straps.
Detectives also want to speak to a group of university or college students who were carrying out a survey in the area around Government Road, as well as builders who may have been working on cottages that overlook the site of the fire.
Detective Inspector Julian Venner said none these people were suspects but could hold important information and police needed to speak to them urgently.
“Does the man on the cycle sound like your dad or someone you work with?" he said.
"Are you one of the students or builders? Please call us on 101 so that we can find out if these people saw anything that could help us identify these offenders.”
He added that police also wanted information about the getaway car, a blue-green Vauxhall Vectra, as well as asking people to be on the lookout for the red cash box, which may have been discarded in the area.
“I would like to reassure the community that this was not a random, opportunist robbery," DI Venner said.
"It appears to have been targeted and planned, and we have a team of officers working to find those responsible.
“Any information you can give us will be treated sensitively but if you are not comfortable speaking to the police, contact Crimestoppers. They pass on information but they don’t tell us where it has come from, so you stay anonymous. You might hold the key piece of information we need to be able to protect other local businesses.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Operation Calypso team at Aldershot police station on 101, or give information to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
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