North Yorkshire Police were called at around 10.10am on Wednesday 18 April 2012 after reports that a cash delivery man had been robbed on Front Street in Acomb.

The man was assaulted by men wearing balaclavas who stole a cash box containing a sum of money before leaving the scene in a car.

It is believed the vehicle made off in the direction of Carr Lane.

The cash delivery man has been taken to York District Hospital for treatment to a head injury sustained in the incident.

Officers are appealing to anyone who witnessed the robbery to get in touch.

Detective Sergeant Mandy Grundy, of York CID, said:
“Clearly we need to identify who was responsible for this incident as soon as possible.

“There will have been numerous people on Front Street at the time of the robbery and I urge anyone who witnessed the incident or knows who the suspects are to contact the police or Crimestoppers as soon as they can.”

Anyone who can help officers with their enquiries is urged to contact York CID on 101.

Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting reference number NYP-18042012-0103.

Wanted: hard-working volunteers

North Yorkshire Police are looking for volunteers to help extend the front counter service at Acombpolice station.
Acomb police station reopened its doors to the public in March 2011 to allow residents to meet local officers, report crime and discuss any concerns they have about issues in their area.

The front counter, which is staffed solely by volunteers, is currently open for two hours per day, five-days-a-week and due to the popularity of the service amongst local people, officers are looking to extend the opening hours.

Anyone who is interested in volunteering and helping to enhance an already successful and popular local service is welcome to apply.

PC Colin Park, of Acomb police, said:
“The front counter is a service which the community really values and the hard work and dedication of our volunteers has significantly contributed to its success.

“Since the station reopened to the public, we have seen an improvement in the relationship between the public and the police which is helping us to identify local issues and tackle them effectively.

“By recruiting more volunteers it will enable us to extend the service we can offer and be even more successful in meeting the needs of local people.”

During the first six months of the front counter being reopened there were 100 enquiries from members of the public. In the second six months a further 300 people have made use of the service.

If you are interested in volunteering please contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 – select option 2 – and ask for Nigel Drayton, Volunteers Coordinator.

We ran a story earlier in the year which urged the York Council to be more positive about the introduction of low emission taxis and hire cars into the city. See http://tinyurl.com/eco-cabs

We were pleased to see that the Council is being recommended next week to approve additions to the list of approved vehicles which can be used as taxis. They will, for the first time, include hybrid powered vehicles.

Preference for new licences will be given to those who are prepared to register a low emission vehicle.

While this is progress, it does not address the more fundamental issue of infrastructure. Without recharging points at taxi ranks it is unlikely that the plug in hybrids will find favour with drivers, while the limited range of pure battery powered vehicles would make their use impractical.

We hope that the Council will address that issue quickly. They should also ensure that low emission cabs are easilly identifiable by potential customers – so that they can choose them in preference to ordinary vehicles if they wish.

The regulations are also being changed to include the following paragraph;
“The council will be sympathetic towards the introduction of taxi buses for use in rural areas and work with possible future providers to investigate how such services may be introduced”.

There is no reason for the Council to restrict potential taxi bus use to rural areas. Off peak services in parts of the urban area also represent an opportunity for this type of service.

Unfortunately, when tenders were invited to provide such a link to part of the Heworth area last year, the Council received no response what so ever from taxi operators.