In Brief

CCTV snaps robber

A robber who held a drinks shop owner at gunpoint during a daytime raid has been caught on CCTV. Glynis Riley was taken to hospital suffering

an angina attack following the hold-up at her

store in Westhoughton, Lancashire.

She was

behind the counter of Glynis' Off-licence when the intruder threatened her

and ran off. Police have released CCTV pictures in the hope of catching the man.

Ram-raiders on the run

Ram-raiders escaped with a cash machine and £1,000 after smashing their way into The Local in Portslade, Brighton, on Nov 22. Residents saw two men drive off in a blue Vauxhall Astra Sxi after the attack, which was later unsuccessfully chased

by police in the Birmingham area. A second car,

a stolen

Rover MG ZT, was abandoned in the front of the shop in Valley Road.

Axe threat to store owner

Ricky Parmar, of West End Off-licence, Hopwood Lane, Halifax, was threatened with axes and machetes during an armed robbery. He was told he would be hurt unless he handed over cash to the gang, who escaped in a car with the cash till and its contents. Three men

were due to appear at Calderdale Magistrates' Court on Nov 23 in connection with the robbery.

Firework attackers caught

Two men have been arrested in connection with a firework attack on a Bolton off-licence. A man dressed in a black cloak and a Scream-type mask dropped a lit firework

in California Wines, Tonge Moor Road . A 22-year-old man

and an 18-year-old have been arrested

and released on bail until Dec 18. A Lancashire teenager who threw a firework into M&V Grocery Off-licence, Atherton, on Nov 8 has been

fined £80 . Owner Bharat Patel escaped unhurt.

Licence objections fail

A Spar store has been granted an alcohol licence despite claims it would add to problems of binge-drinking in Cardiff city centre. Reverend Keith Kimber, vicar of St John's Church,

said the

licence

would add to drunkenness and late-night violence. Police also opposed the application. Shop manager Suhail Ahmed told the South Wales Echo

the £100,000 annual rent meant the

store would be unable to sell cheap alcohol.

Three years for armed robber

A man has been sent to prison for three years by Leicester Crown Court for robbing a Thresher s off-licence in Uppingham armed with a machete and Martins newsagents in Corby armed with an imitation handgun. Bryan Foley, of Willow Brook Road, Corby, will serve at least three years in jail.

Lincoln shops praised

Eight out of nine Lincoln shops passed a test-purchase operation. A 16-year-old girl attempted to buy booze at nine premises in the town as part of a pre-Christmas crackdown. But only one store, Poachers in Lincoln's High Street, sold the alcohol and was fined £80.

9059