£1,000 reward offered after string of knifepoint robberies including one in Ilkeston

A £1,000 reward is being offered after a series of knifepoint robberies in the south of the county including one carried out in the Erewash borough.

Significant amounts of cash have been stolen from shops in Derby and Ilkeston during seven robberies in recent weeks.

The offender in each of the incidents has been armed with a knife but has not harmed anyone physically during any of the incidents.

Now independent charity Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £1,000 for information they exclusively receive which significantly assists officers in their investigation.

Chief Inspector Chris Thornhill said: “These offences have understandably caused concern and a team of detectives are following a number of lines of enquiry in an effort to bring the man responsible to justice.

“I know there are people in the community who know who this man is – and they know that the right thing to do is to come forward.

“We have thankfully seen nobody physically hurt in the incidents so far, but any person who is willing to arm themselves with a knife is putting our community at serious risk.

“We are increasing both our uniformed and plain clothes patrols in the city – as well as armed response officers including potential targets as part of their patrol strategies.

“I would urge anyone who has any information, no matter how small it may seem, to come forward as soon as possible.”

The first three incidents took place in parts of Derby on 5th October, with descriptions of the offender including that a man was wearing an orange top.  On October 6th, another Derby-based incident led to a description of a man in a black hooded top and tracksuit bottoms, white and black Nike Trainers and a navy blue face mask.

A fifth incident, this time in Ilkeston on 14th October, involved a robbery from The Co-op Supermarket in Summerfields Way South between 9:50pm and 10:03pm when an offender was described as wearing a grey coat, navy jacket, white cap, black trousers and black shoes, but was also wearing a face covering and gloves.

After a gap of three weeks, two further incidents took place in Derby suburbs on 6th and 7th November with similar descriptions given in each case.

Officers want to hear from anyone who was in any of the areas at the times when the incidents occurred – as well as anyone with CCTV that covers the areas or have dashcam from cars that may have been in the area at the times mentioned above.

If you have any information, please contact officers via any of the following routes including reference 24000595055:

• Website – There are reporting tools at www.derbyshire.police.uk/
• Facebook – send a private message to the Derbyshire Constabulary Facebook page
• X (Twitter) – direct message the contact centre via @DerPolContact
• Phone – call the non-emergency number 101

You can also anonymously contact the independent charity CrimeStoppers, on 0800 555 111, or by visiting the CrimeStoppers website.