"Hunt for 'elusive' cashpoint vandal who has struck 50 times in Coventry"

[dutchman]

He has been targeting card readers and filling them with glue



This is the face of an 'elusive' cashpoint vandal who struck up to 50 times in Coventry and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.

He inserted a glue-like substance into the card reader at cashpoints in Tile Hill Lane, Jubilee Crescent, Earlsdon Street and Holbrook Lane.

This has caused more than £20,000 worth of damage to cashpoints at four Coventry Building Society branches since February.

West Midlands Police say previous appeals to catch him and put an end to his reign of damage were fruitless.

But now officers have clearer CCTV images of him and hope it will lead to someone recognising him.

PC Andy Bishop, who is leading the investigation into the damage, explained: "We issued an appeal for information in March but have since been working with security staff at the branches and have now recovered much better quality images.

"He’s proving somewhat of a Mr Elusive so far but we’re hopeful that with these clearer images someone will recognise him and contact us.

"This is sheer mindless damage which is causing lots of hassle for staff and customers."

PC Bishop appealed for help, saying: "We need to catch the man responsible and I’d urge anyone who believes they recognise the man in the images to get in touch."

Anyone who recognises the suspect can contact police via their chat at west-midlands.police.uk, 8am to midnight, or by calling 101, quoting reference number 20CV/33548U/21.

Details can also be passed on to officers via the independent charity Crimestoppers, which is free to call from a landline and confidential on 0800 555 111.