Two men arrested over Darwen Bargain Booze robbery

Police swooped on a property in Cranfield View, Darwen, at approximately 10am on Monday, September 19, as part of their investigation into a robbery at Bargain Booze in Bolton Road on Friday night.

Around five police cars, several vans, and a number of armed officers, as well as police dogs, descended on the cul-de-sac, while residents looked on in shock.

Pictures taken from the scene showed several police vehicles in Cranfield View, and one resident, Ben Smalley, who provided the Lancashire Telegraph with an image, said: "This is scary to witness.

"Didn't expect to see five police cars, a bunch of vans, and seven or eight heavily armed officers on my street when I woke up this morning."

Social media was awash with rumours the siege could have been connected to the robbery on Friday evening, in which Bargain Booze staff were threatened by a man brandishing a weapon.

In a statement released by police on Saturday morning, they said a man was believed to have entered the off-licence at 9.08pm, threatened staff while brandishing some kind of weapon, and demanded they hand over cash from the till, before leaving and heading in the direction of Blackpool Street. 

Following Monday morning’s raid, two men aged 32 and 25 were arrested on suspicion of robbery and are now in custody.

Residents were told by police to stay inside their homes while the armed officers executed their warrants and arrested the men.

It is believed people were allowed to leave their properties by lunchtime, when the operation ended and police left the scene.

Det Insp Kathryn Cussans of Blackburn Police, said: “This is an ongoing investigation and we are asking for anyone who witnessed the robbery or were in the area around the time to contact us.

“If you have CCTV or dashcam footage from the area on Friday night, please contact us.”

The robbery happened on Friday, just after 9pm.

Anyone with information is asked to contact 101, quoting log 1285 of September 16.