Raider caught on camera

AN elderly woman was used as a human shield during a raid on a Heathfield building society.

The terrified pensioner was in the Alliance and Leicester building society, on the High Street, when she was grabbed by a robber who thrust a metal object in her back.

He then demanded money from staff, before making off with an amount of cash believed to be in the thousands of pounds. He was last seen heading along Station Road in the direction of Budgen s. However, the robber was caught on CCTV as he fled the building society.

Bosses at Alliance and Leicester have offered a substantial reward for anyone able to give information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the offender.

Alliance and Leicester corporate security manager Derek Wilkinson said: We are anxious to trace the culprit. This was a terrifying ordeal for the staff, as well as the customer. These types of incident are always very traumatic for those who get caught up in them.

The incident happened at 4pm on Friday and lasted for a total of around three minutes. The victim, who was in her mid-70s, described the weapon as possibly a metal bar concealed in a plastic carrier bag . Three other adults and two children were also in the building society at the time of the robbery.

DC Martin Heaps, leading the investigation, said: This robbery happened in broad daylight in the centre of Heathfield on Friday afternoon. The offender made threatening advances to one building society customer and could easily have been seen by pedestrians or drivers outside the premises.

This man knew what he wanted and was calculated in the way he handled the situation. But he forgot that the building was covered by CCTV cameras.

My appeal to the public is quite simply to ask whether they saw anything suspicious on Friday afternoon or if they know who this man is.

The robber was described as a white man in his early 40s, 6ft tall, of medium build, wearing a pale blue shirt with small checks, baggy combat trousers, a green fleece and a blue floppy hat with a white stripe around the rim. As he entered the building society, he put on a pair of glasses.

Anyone with information can call the national Crimestoppers number on 0800 555 111 where calls are treated in confidence and anonymously if necessary, or alternatively, to East Downs CID on 0845 60 70 999, or to Alliance and Leicester Corporate Security on 0116 2004 1000.