New breed of armed robbers target London pubs and restaurants

A new wave of chaotic young armed robbers is targeting shops, pubs and restaurants, police warn today.

Flying Squad officers say the gun gangs strike randomly at a range of premises — sometimes robbing customers — and have even targeted fish-and-chip shops.

In one raid last month two men burst into a Starbucks in Haverstock Hill, threatening staff with a handgun before escaping with cash.

Many of the attackers are teenagers whose weapons range from imitation firearms to genuine handguns. The raiders can net as little as £100 a time.

Detective Superintendent Stuart Cundy, of the Flying Squad, said there had been a decline in robberies on cash-in-transit vans after success in targeting them.

He said: "We have seen a shift from one type of armed robbery, and an increase in those on premises ranging from fast food takeaways to shops and restaurants.

"What we are picking up is a trend where more of our suspects have progressed from lower level crime to armed robbery."

These criminals were harder to predict, Mr Cundy added: "They tend to be young and disorganised, often doing a job on a whim with whichever associates happen to be about at the time."

The robbers often strike late at night, stealing takings in entertainment venues — and if there are still customers there, taking their mobile phones.

The Haverstock Hill Starbucks was targeted at 7.45pm on 11 January. A café worker nearby said the shop had been closed at the time, but the raiders convinced staff to let them in.

In a recent raid on a card store in Fulham, two staff members were injured and robbed of their jewellery and mobiles. In the last three months of last year the number of armed robberies of commercial premises excluding bookmakers and cash-in-transit vans — jumped by 20 per cent to 96 offences.

In one recent operation police arrested a 15-year-old suspected of being part of a gang behind a string of attacks across south London.

Amateurs' fled with little from raid

Workers at a south London pub have told of their terror as it was raided by an armed gang.

The gang of 12 — three carrying weapons — broke into the Gipsy Hill Tavern, in Gipsy Hill, at 2.30am as staff were tidying up after an Ash gig.

But after hitting the doorman on the head with a gun they realised the tills were empty and left with two handbags, two phones and one staff member's wages.

Manager Frank Hennelly, 61, said the November attack seemed "amateur". He said: "I was in the cellar counting the cash when the robbers arrived, but they didn't venture downstairs. It seemed like a very amateur thing because they had been seen in the area a few hours before and we have CCTV cameras."