Operators of a petrol station that suffered two knife-point robberies in the space of five days have praised the staff, public and police for their positive response to the incidents.
The Penny On The Move store, in Barnard Castle, was raided on March 30 and April 3 and, following a joint investigation involving response officers, the Barnard Castle Neighbourhood Policing Team and CID, a man was arrested in connection with the incidents.
Penny Petroleum, which owns and operates the site, brought forward the closing time from 11pm to 8pm until further notice.
The firm also introduced extra shifts to ensure at least two staff members were working on the premises at the same time.
Emma Shell, head of compliance and business development for Penny Petroleum/Penny On The Move, said: “It’s disappointing and disheartening for the site to have two instances such as this occurring in such a short space of time.
“It has understandably created concern for staff and is certainly a concern for us as a business on how we can best support the staff.”
Penny Petroleum operates a partnership with a charity partner called Grocery Aid and immediately set up a critical incident response team to support the staff impacted by the robberies.
“They are on hand to provide any support and counselling services to the colleagues that are affected,” said Ms Shell. “And we had counsellors along with multiple members of our management team onsite over the weekend.”
Penny Petroleum aims to extend the petrol station’s opening hours as soon as possible.
“The reduced opening hours are something that we are reviewing with a view to getting the store back up to full operations as quickly as possible,” confirmed Ms Shell.
“Having spent some time there myself it’s certainly the hub of the community and we’d like to thank the local community for their ongoing support, we’ve had some incredibly kind gestures – sweets brought in, things like that. Lots of people are coming in to offer their support and that’s lovely to see.
“The (staff) have acted in exactly the manner we would have expected and in the manner that they are trained.
“Yes, we want to get the store back up to full operations and we want to make sure we are serving the community the best that we can, but ultimately the safety of the staff is at the forefront.
“In terms of additional security features, we are conducting a review on site and discussing various options.
“We’ve also been really impressed with the police response, particularly on Friday evening into Saturday morning when there was a huge police presence in the area and a helicopter was brought out.”
- Matthew Reece Howe, 30, of Cockfield, appeared at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on April 7, charged with two robberies. He did not enter any plea and was remanded into custody. He is due to appear at Durham Crown Court on May 5.
