'Devastating' ram raids could be linked – police

A senior police officer has described a recent spate of ram raids as "devastating for local communities" and said they may be linked.

Cambridgeshire Police was called to three incidents last week, in Cambridge, Whittlesey and Littleport.

Det Ch Insp Christian O'Brien said the force was "looking at the possibility that they are linked" and working "to fully understand the evidence that's been left at the scenes".

"These sorts of crimes are devastating to the local communities, to local businesses, and quite often these local businesses are the centre point of the community," he said.

"We really understand the trauma, the upset, the anger that it brings and we are absolutely committed to bringing those responsible to justice."

On 2 November, the front entrance of a Co-op in central Cambridge was badly damaged.

Two days later, police were called to a branch of Nationwide in Whittlesey.

Debris was left strewn over a petrol station forecourt in Littleport after a construction vehicle smashed a huge hole into the side of the building at 05:00 GMT on Friday.

O'Brien said all the cash machines and money stolen in the raids had been recovered.

"We are now looking at the opportunities that presents us to try and identify, catch and convict those responsible," he said.

Barbara Lindsey, who lives in Whittlesey, said the raid in the town was "heart breaking" as it was the second in three years.

The Nationwide branch's manager David Fenwick said: "The whole inside was just a mess: the whole window got ripped out, the ATM was ripped out."

He said staff were sometimes the only people customers might talk to all day, so he was pleased that the branch had been able to reopen two days after the raid.

Another resident, Susan Joyce, said the road had been shut following the ram raid.

"It's the second time that this has happened and it's quite close, you know, so it's a bit worrying," she said.

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