Two machete-wielding robbers, who raided a a convenience store in Birmingham and demanded money, were trapped inside the store by a quick-thinking staff for some time before they managed to escape. Police investigation is still on.
The incident took place at Taas Express store in Smethwick area of Birmingham earlier this month, when a gang entered a convenience store and threatened staff with a large knife.
CCTV footage of the attempted robbery obtained by The Telegraph showed the store being raided by masked men, one of whom is seen demanding money from the till while threatening to stab the shopkeeper. At the same time, one of his accomplices began helping himself to items from the shelves.
A quick-thinking member of staff ran from behind the counter, grabbed two bottles of wine and smashed them on the floor, disorienting the robbers.
He then managed to run out of the shop and close the door behind him, trapping two of the suspects, including the one brandishing the machete, inside. One of the suspects managed to escape before the door was pulled shut, but the other two were trapped.
Pulling on the door handle to prevent their escape, the shop worker was joined by brave passers-by who helped stop them fleeing. One of the robbers then began using the machete to smash the reinforced glass in the door in an attempt to get away. As seen in the video above, the robbers managed to destroy the glass door but the staff and the passerby blocked them using a chair.
The suspects eventually managed to escape by climbing out through a bathroom window at the back of the property and are being sought by West Midlands Police.
Recalling the incident, Rajasingam Tharshiya, the owner of the Taas Express store, said that both the men escaped out of the bathroom window together.
Tharshiya told The Telegraph, “The police arrived while they were still inside, but were reluctant to go inside for some reason. At that point, they squeezed out of the bathroom window. It is very frightening this can happen, and our worker was very shaken up but luckily unharmed.”
A police spokesman said, “We were called just before 7pm on 18 April to reports of a disorder at a shop on Bearwood Road, Smethwick. A shop worker was threatened with a knife and offenders attempted to take items from the store.
“The shop worker, along with members of the public, attempted to lock the offenders in the store to prevent them from fleeing the scene. During this, the front door of the store was smashed. A boy, aged 17, was arrested on suspicion of robbery and has since been bailed pending further enquiries.”
The Institute for Grocery Distribution (IGD) has released the report, "A Net Zero Transition Plan for the UK Food System", providing a framework for the food sector to achieve 70 per cent emissions reductions in agriculture and to fully decarbonize heat, electricity and transport.
Commissioned by IGD and developed by consultants EY and WRAP, the first of its kind report provides an independent, evidence-based view for how the UK food system in its entirety, can reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions in line with a 1.5degree SBTi outcome and to meet the UK’s legally binding national target.
Currently, food and drink is the UK’s largest manufacturing industry – it provides 4.4 million jobs, contributes over £100bn to GDP, and generates 30 per cent of all UK territorial emissions much of this relating to agriculture with significant contributions from energy and logistics. The report aims to inform and support further pre-competitive collaboration across the various sectors of the food industry, under the common goal of emissions reduction. It outlines 19 steps that the Government can take to enable this, with a particular focus on strengthening policy for agriculture and energy.
In the short term, the report proposes immediate action by industry and government to support the domestic farming transition and on a set of standards for food imports. Together with action on energy efficiency and low-carbon power generation and significant reductions in food waste, the report shows that 2030 emissions reductions targets are very challenging but achievable.
Kirsty Saddler, Director of Health & Sustainability Programmes, IGD, said: “This UK Food System Transition Plan is a first of its kind approach at unifying wide-ranging perspectives within the food industry around the aim of accelerating progress in emissions reduction. The UK food industry is deeply connected to the climate crisis both as a contributor of emissions but also as an industry that is dependent upon a stable and healthy ecosystem to grow and provide food for the country. All organisations across the system can make better progress, faster, if we work together and with government.”
The framework offered reviews pathways on both the supply side and the demand side, showing the contribution that can be made by the population through diet change, using the NHS Eatwell Guide as a basis. This report also notes the critical role reductions in food waste, particularly by households, can make. Halving food waste in the UK by 2030, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 and the Courtauld Commitment 2030, is estimated to remove about 5 per cent of all food-related emissions.
Catherine David, Director of Behaviour Change and Business Programmes at WRAP, said:“I'm delighted that IGD, with WRAP's support, is launching this report today, which marks a significant step forward towards action on greenhouse gas emissions in the food and drink sector. At WRAP, we are passionate about evidence driven collaborative action which is brought together by our Courtauld Commitment 2030. We hope this report, uniting the whole of UK food and drink, will help catalyse a fresh and focused phase of collaborative action on the urgent issues that industry must tackle.”
Ministers are getting under pressure to impose taxes on packaged foods containing high content of salt and/or sugar.
In a plea addressed to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and the health secretary, Wes Streeting, representing 35 health groups, it is highlighted that taxing unhealthy foods such as cakes, sweets, biscuits, crisps and savoury snacks would generate billions of pounds for the Treasury and cut the number of people becoming ill as a result of a bad diet.
The signatories include groups representing the UK’s doctors, dentists and public health directors, health charities including Diabetes UK and the World Cancer Research Fund, and a senior figure in the chef Jamie Oliver’s organisation.
Anna Taylor, the executive of the Food Foundation, which also signed the letter, said, “The damage the food industry is doing to children’s health is the biggest threat to our nation’s wellbeing and future productivity and this needs to be reined in – urgently.
“The government must now get bolder, creating real incentives to force the industry to align with public health goals, further and faster.”
The health groups want ministers to start tightly regulating the food industry. They said relying on the industry to voluntarily clean up its act nutritionally, as the previous Conservative governments did during 2010-24, had not yielded meaningful change.
“Voluntary reformulation programmes for sugar, salt and calories are not proving effective enough, achieving only a 3.5 per cent reduction in sugar levels of key product categories, compared to the mandatory soft drinks industry levy (sugar tax), which has achieved a reduction in total sales of 34.4 per cent between 2015 and 2020,” the letter says.
Jamie O’Halloran, a senior research fellow at the IPPR, said: “Without bold regulatory changes, our food system will continue to fall short in promoting healthy lifestyles, particularly for those on the lowest incomes.
“Expanding levies to cover other high-sugar and ultra-processed products could be transformative, especially if the resulting revenue is used to support low-income households to make healthy food choices.”
A government spokesperson said: “Obesity is a significant health challenge, which affects 26 per cent of adults and costs the NHS £11.8bn per year.
“The budget took action to ensure the soft drinks industry levy maintains its incentive to encourage healthier soft drinks, and we will publish a 10-year health plan in spring 2025.”
This comes a week after Reeves announced in the budget that the Treasury was looking into whether the sugar tax, which came into effect in 2018, should be extended to other very sweet products, including milkshakes and highly sugared coffees as it is widely regarded as having been a success.
Earlier, a YouGov poll showed public support on such taxes as long as the revenue is ploughed into children’s health.
The representative survey of 4,943 British adults by YouGov, commissioned by food campaigners’ Recipe for Change initiative, also found that 74 per cent think food firms are not honest about the health impact of their products while 61 per cent worry about the amount of sugar and saturated fat in what they eat.
Only 13 per cent believe producers will make their food more nutritious without government intervention while 72 per cent worry about high levels of processing used in food production.
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The Fed mourns ex-President Margaret Adams, retail pioneer
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Tireless work by the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) Contact Centre has seen almost a quarter of a million pounds recovered from news wholesalers in 2024.
The latest figures show that £187,130 has been recovered in missing credits, missing vouchers and recharges, as well as money saved through waived deposits for news wholesale accounts.
A further £40,338 was recovered in restitution for instances of late supply or missing supply having an impact on home news deliverers, taking the overall total paid back to members this year to date to £227,468.
“Once again our Contact Centre has delivered for members," said The Fed’s National President, Mo Razzaq. "This is testament to the tireless work of the team, ensuring Fed members are not left out of pocket when things go wrong.
“The amount of money the team has recovered in 2024 is further proof that, for independent retailers, it really does pay to be a member of the Federation.”
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PayPoint unveils new partnership with Leeds Credit Union
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PayPoint and Northern Ireland electricity supplier, Share Energy, have announced a new partnership that will provide pre-payment customers with convenient payment solutions available immediately at PayPoint locations.
The partnership means all pre-payment Share Energy customers can now top-up their electricity meters in any one of PayPoint’s 1,167 stores in Northern Ireland.
Share Energy brings an innovative, customer-first approach to the energy market, with its attractive profit-share revenue model poised to drive rapid, large-scale customer growth. The partnership with PayPoint ensures that robust payment services and infrastructure are in place to support this anticipated demand.
The partnership further demonstrates Share Energy’s commitment to enhancing customer experience, complemented by PayPoint’s dedication to leveraging technology to improve payment services and the end-user experience.
“We’re proud to be supporting Share Energy through the provision of an accessible and convenient payment service for its customers," said PayPoint Head of Business Development, Ian Ranger. "As we enter the colder months topping up energy meters will become an essential task for many. Through our network of retailers in Northern Ireland we’re pleased to provide a close and easy payment solution with this partnership. Our network allows customers to combine daily errands at a store close to home and experience a quick and streamlined payment service.”
Damian Wilson, Share Energy CEO, added: “We are excited to partner with PayPoint, as this collaboration strengthens our commitment to delivering a seamless, customer-focused experience.
“With PayPoint’s advanced payment solutions, we are well positioned to support our rapid growth and provide our customers with reliable, convenient options that enhance their experience with us.”
Shoppers' spending on FMCG saw a rise in the third quarter of this year, shows a latest industry data, revealing a narrowing gap between own-label and branded products as the growth rates indicate shoppers are now starting to treat themselves to small indulgences again.
According to latest NIQ Retail Spend Barometer, value growth in the FMCG sector was driven by an uptick in the personal care (+10.7 per cent), homecare (+8.7 per cent), fresh food (+5.8 per cent), and snacking (+5.1 per cent) categories. Beverages returned to growth (+2.1 per cent), from a decline of 0.9 per cent in Q2. Meanwhile, the biggest declines were experienced in tobacco (-7.9 per cent) and paper products (-4.1 per cent).
NIQ attributed the rebound largely to the sales boost from the Euros and Olympics, which took place in July and August, and slightly sunnier weather compared to last year. Despite improved consumer confidence in Q2, this stalled in Q3 as economic and financial uncertainty continued to impact consumers. However, within FMCG, lower inflation is now leading to better volume growth.
The NIQ data also reveals a narrowing gap between own-label and branded products as the growth rates indicate shoppers are now starting to treat themselves to small indulgences again. In Q1 of this year, FMCG branded unit growth was recorded at 0.7 per cent compared to 3.1 per cent for own-label. However, in Q3 branded unit growth sits at 1.1 per cent versus 1.7 per cent for own-label.
Ben Morrison, Retail Services Director UK & IRE at NIQ, said: “The first eight months of the year so far have been more optimistic compared to 2023, but shoppers remain cautious. We are seeing more considered purchasing, particularly within T&D as consumers opt to replace products when they must rather than upgrade a working one.
"This also plays to the desire for more sustainable living – beyond just energy efficiency – which is adding to the decision process. When it comes to upgrades, credit schemes offer immediate gratification and are used more often by those on higher incomes to enable upgrades for non-essential big-ticket items”.
“As for FMCG, retailers will be pleased to see a slight increase in the rate of growth in the sector in Q3, largely boosted by the big sporting events over the summer. With the gap closing between branded and own-label items, shoppers are open to spending on certain items.
"However, building financial resilience remains a challenge for consumers. According to GfK’s Consumer Confidence Barometer, a quarter of consumers reported they were ‘just managing’ at the end of Q3 and 1 in 3 said they were unlikely to be able to save in the year ahead. Shoppers, therefore, remain cautious, so as we enter the golden quarter, promotions across retailers are going to be key in persuading savvy shoppers to trade up.”