Armed police surrounded the building
A member of staff had to be stretchered away after he was ‘pistol whipped’ during a terrifying armed raid at a bookmakers.
The robbery occurred at about 9am today at the Ladbrokes betting shop, on Robin Hood Road, Willenhall .
A man in a high visibility jacket is believed to have struck as the shop was being opened before stealing a mobile phone and then making his escape.
Eyewitnesses said swarms of armed police arrived soon after to surround the building, along with police dog units and an ambulance.
Locals said it was the latest in a series of raids at the shop, which was closed for the whole of Wednesday.
One eyewitnesses described the scene as “chaos” and said the robbery was over by the time he arrived on the scene at about 9.30am.
He said: “All the police were standing out the front of Ladbrokes.
“There were three or four car loads of armed police. There were dogs too. They were looking around the site.”
He added: “The lad who works there was taken out on a stretcher. He had a mark on his face, it looked like on his nose. He was put straight in the [ambulance]. We saw him being put in the back of an ambulance.
“The bosses of Ladbrokes turned up soon after and they were there for more than two hours.”
Another witness at the scene said: “The place has been robbed four or five times in the past 12 months and about three times in the past three months.
“It’s nothing new. It’s just normal. It’s worse this time because someone has been hurt. But it just feels like a typical Wednesday.”
He added: “The lad has gone in to open the shop and someone has run in behind him, that’s all we can assume.
“It’s happened at night in the past. The police have been investigating, but they never get anything. It’s a pointless exercise.”
West Midlands Police [said] "We were called to reports of an armed robbery at Ladbrokes, on Robin Hood Road, in Coventry just after 9am this morning.
“A man wearing dark clothing and a high visibility jacket, who was armed with a black handgun, tried to get into the premises while a staff member was opening up.
“It is believed that he hit the 25-year-old staff member on the head with the gun.
“He made off with a mobile phone taken during the incident.
“The man was not seriously injured, officers are conducting enquires and examining CCTV in the area.
“Anyone with information is urged to call DS Michelle Kiedron or her team on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
There's been no policing in Willenhall since 1980, ask anyone who lives there.
