Arrest made in armed robbery case

Police investigating a £50,000 armed robbery on a couple at their Shropshire home today arrested a 22-year-old man.

He was arrested just before 5.30am at an address in the Penn Fields area of Wolverhampton in a joint operation involving officers from West Mercia Police and West Midlands Police,

He was taken into custody at Shrewsbury police station on suspicion of carrying out robbery at a home in Lower Rudge, near Pattingham during the night of March 9.

West Midlands businessman Richard Barnfather and his fiancée, Debbie Leadbetter, were held at gunpoint by three masked men who smashed their way into the home.

They were threatened and tied up before the gang made off with jewellery worth around £50,000 together with three cars.

Detective inspector Mark Bellamy, from West Mercia Police, renewed appeals for information about those involved on 0300 333 3000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 333111.