Police investigating two robberies in Cheltenham

Update 12.20pm on 16 August: An 18-year-old man from Cheltenham has been arrested in connection with these incidents and is in police custody.

Original appeal: Police are investigating a robbery which took place in Cheltenham yesterday afternoon (Tuesday 15 August).

Officers were called to Winchcombe Street shortly after 1pm with a report that a man with a hammer had entered a shop.

He threatened staff before smashing display cabinets and stealing a number of items.

The man fled the scene in a white van, which mounted the pavement and narrowly missed a number of people as it drove off.

No injuries were reported, however people are shaken by the ordeal. The van was driven away in the direction of High Street/Rodney Road.

The offender was described as being white, 5ft 8in in height and of a slim build.

No arrests have been made at this stage and enquiries are ongoing to locate the suspect.

Officers are linking the robbery to an incident which took place elsewhere in Cheltenham yesterday morning.

In that incident a man carrying a hammer entered a store on Hester's Way Road at around 6.15am, where he smashed the till before taking a quantity of money.

He then left the area in a white van, believed to be a Ford Transit Courier, which headed in the direction of Princess Elizabeth Way.

Police would like to speak to anybody else who may have information or footage in relation to either incident. You can contact Gloucestershire Constabulary through the website, quoting incident 190 of 15 August: https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/contact/af/contact-us/us/a-crime-that-has-already-been-reported/