Portsmouth man arrested after staff threatened with screwdriver and hammer in string of Southsea robberies

By Freddie Webb
Published 7th Apr 2023, 13:01 BST
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Police have arrested a man in connection with a string of shop robberies in Southsea where staff were threatened with weapons.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said a man entered the Co-op on Great Southsea Street – wielding a screwdriver and making threats to an employee. Over £200 was then stolen from the till.

The incident happened on March 31 at roughly 8.50pm. A man entered the same shop the following day at 8.40pm holding a hammer and again stole cash from the till.

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Police have released images of two men they would like to speak to following the robberies. Two images are shown of one of the men and one image of the second man. Picture: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary.Police have released images of two men they would like to speak to following the robberies. Two images are shown of one of the men and one image of the second man. Picture: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary.
Police have released images of two men they would like to speak to following the robberies. Two images are shown of one of the men and one image of the second man. Picture: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary.

Police received a report ten minutes later that a male entered Castle News, in Castle Road, and accosted a staff member with a hammer before robbing the till. No-one was injured in either incident and the man ran away to the bottom of Castle Road, towards Southsea Common.

Police said: ‘A 21-year-old male from Portsmouth has been arrested on suspicion of four counts of robbery and remains in police custody at this time. We continue to carry out enquiries and will continue to patrol the area over the coming days.’

The force have renewed their appeal for witnesses following the series of robberies. ‘If you saw what happened, have any information that could help our investigation or recognise who may be in these images, taken on the days of the incidents, we would like to speak to you,’ they added.

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‘We appreciate you cannot see faces but hope the clothing could help people identify them. Call us on 101 or report online quoting 44230128450.’

Reports can be made through the police website.