West Midlands Police said that last Friday (18 February), four men entered the shop at around 10.20am armed with a knife and a machete. The force said staff at the shop were forced to open the safes and that the assailants made off with a quantity of cash.

The arrests come after police pursued a stolen car on Thursday morning (24 February). Officers spotted the Seat, believed to have been involved in the incident last Friday, during the early hours of the morning while on patrol in nearby Walsall, north of Birmingham.

In a statement, police said the vehicle tried to make off along Wolverhampton Road but was stopped using a stinger trap and came to a stop on Bloxwich Lane shortly afterwards. Three men aged 18, 20 and 22 were arrested on suspicion of robbery and theft of a motor vehicle.

A second vehicle seen with the Seat was stopped by officers on nearby Southbourne Avenue. A baton was recovered from the boot.

A 30-year-old man was detained on suspicion of robbery and possession of an offensive weapon.
All four have been held in police custody for questioning.

Co-op Travel declined to comment when approached by TTG, owing to the incident being an ongoing police matter.

Anyone with information is asked to contact West Midlands Police via its online live chat service or by calling 101 quoting crime reference number 20/232934/22.