MP reacts to shock attack on Central England Co-op colleague in Yorkshire
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 22/07/2020
A Yorkshire MP has condemned a brutal attack that left a Central England Co-op shopworker injured after being attacked with a knife during a robbery.
Dan Jarvis, MP for Barnsley Central, spoke out after an innocent colleague was shockingly attacked during the robbery on Monday, 20 July at the Keresforth Hall Road Food Store, in Barnsley.
The parliamentarian praised the work of shopworkers, supported efforts for them to receive better protection and backed calls for the perpetrator to be brought to justice.
The injured colleague is recovering at home and South Yorkshire Police has launched a manhunt for the person they believe to be responsible.
Mr Jarvis said: “I am shocked and appalled by the horrendous attack on a shop worker at the Keresforth Hall Road Co-op. My thoughts are with them and their family and I wish them a speedy and full recovery.
“I would urge anyone with any information to contact 101 quoting incident number 922 of 20 July 2020. Alternatively, you can stay completely anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers via their website Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling their UK Contact Centre on 0800 555 111. It is imperative that the perpetrator is apprehended as quickly as possible and punished for this wicked crime.
“No-one should face threats, abuse or intimidation as they go about their job. I have long campaigned on this vitally important issue, including putting forward an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill in 2014 on tackling abuse against retail workers. I’m proud to endorse the campaign by Central England Co-op for zero-tolerance of violence and abuse against retail workers.”
This latest incident coincides with Central England Co-op campaigning for the Government to change legislation so shop workers are afforded greater protection in carrying out their duties.
It also moved to remind would-be criminals that it has a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to any kind of crime against its colleagues or customers.
Recent figures have seen assaults jump by 100%, threats and intimidation by 25% and verbal abuse by 175% since the start of the year, and since the lockdown was introduced, there have been over 100 incidents related directly to people using COVID-19 as a threat.
Detective Inspector Tom Woodward, from South Yorkshire Police, said: “I’d like to offer my reassurance to the local community at this time. Our investigation is continuing at pace and we are exploring a number of lines of enquiry to locate the offender.
“We’d like to encourage the public to come forward if they have any information which might help us in our enquiries.
“Were you in the area at the time? Do you recognise the man in the CCTV image or his clothing?
“If you have any information, please contact us.”
Notes to editors
About Central England Co-operative
Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral, travel and property investment.
Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish.
Our 7,900 colleagues who serve Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.
Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have over 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.
We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.3 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.
Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood
Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle
Phone - 01543 421390
Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop