Appeal for bank raid witnesses

Nov 15 2007 by Ben Glaze, South Wales Echo

POLICE probing a bungled bank raid today appealed for a number of people to contact them.

Three masked men dressed in dark clothes forced their way into the Halifax Bank in Holton Road, Barry, while security guards were refilling the cash machine.

It was the second attempted robbery at the bank in just over a month.

The suspects from the latest raid fled empty-handed in a grey Mazda Six getaway car at 8.05pm on Friday.

Detectives today issued a list and CCTV images of potential witnesses they want to trace including:

- A cyclist who rode up Holton Road on the pavement passing the Halifax just before the incident.

- A man wearing a dark jacket and jeans who walked down Newlands Street, across Holton Road into an amusement arcade before the attempted robbery.

- A woman wearing a light-coloured jacket who walked up Holton Road towards the Halifax as the would-be robbers broke into the bank.

- A man who used a cash machine at HSBC in Holton Road and may have witnessed the attempted raid before driving off. He wore a light-coloured T-shirt, dark jacket and blue jeans. He drove off in a small silver hatchback car.

Police also want three people who may have been shopping in Holton Road at the time to get in touch.

Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Richards said today: “We are appealing for any person who has any information to contact the incident room or Crimestoppers where they can pass information in complete confidence.”

He also wanted to speak to any drivers who were blocked by the waiting Mazda on Holton Road or who saw the vehicle near the Halifax.

Anyone who was in the area between 8pm and 8.10pm on Friday should call the incident room at Penarth Police Station on 029 2057 1581 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Police are investigating a separate robbery at the bank on September 28.

ben.glaze@mediawales.co.uk