Ram raiders rob Securitas cash van
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A security van belonging to the company targeted in Britain's biggest robbery has been raided, provoking fears that the firm is falling victim to copycat attacks.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds were stolen when robbers rammed the van with a tractor in Warrington, Cheshire, on Wednesday evening. Men wearing balaclavas used a lorry to trap the van at a junction before smashing a tractor into the rear. The raiders attacked the van with crowbars and set light to it before fleeing with the cash. The Securitas drivers were unhurt and were interviewed by police yesterday.
The raid happened a fortnight after an armed gang stole £53m cash from a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent. There is no direct link between the robberies, but Securitas is concerned that criminals could be copying the Kent gang. A source said: "Clearly we are worried about copycat crime. That is partly why we try and avoid publicity - we do not want people knowing about how money is transported around the country."
Kent police are continuing to investigate the Tonbridge robbery. So far they have recovered about £20m, and charged five people.
Securitas is reviewing its security measures as a result of the recent attacks. There were 836 raids on cash transit vans last year. Securitas and Securicor are the two largest operators.