Police have appealed for help following a series of armed robberies in West Leeds.
In each instance, the suspect has been carrying what is believed to be a handgun and has made demands for cash.
Detectives are currently linking five separate incidents, four of which occurred on the 22nd May, 2018 in Bramley, Burley, Kirkstall and Swinnow.
The first took place at the Co-Op store at Swinnow Shopping Centre just after 7pm, closely followed by an incident at a newsagents on Morris Lane in Kirkstall at 7.17pm.
At around 8.20pm a further offence took place at a bookmakers on Pudsey Road, which was followed by another robbery at a Post Office at Wyther Park.
In addition, an armed robbery was reported at 2pm yesterday afternoon, 23rd May 2018 on Hyde Park Road in the Burley area, where a man made away with a quantity of cash.
The man is described is 6 foot tall, of medium build and was wearing a balaclava and gloves.
Detective Inspector James Entwistle of Leeds District CID said:
“Today we have released CCTV images retrieved from that footage to assist in tracing the suspect, who we believe has been involved in each of these armed robberies.
“In particular, we have shared the audio from one the incidents, as the voice captured is quite distinctive.
“Someone may be able to recognise this and enable us to quickly identify the individual behind this series of crimes.”
Det Insp Entwistle said police were doing everything they could to trace the perpetrator. He added:
“Understandably, people in the local area may be worried about this spate of offences, however, I can assure the community that we are doing all we can to find the person behind this.
“We will not accept criminal activity on the streets of Leeds and officers will be providing high visibility reassurance to residents and local businesses.”
If you have any information or have witnessed one of these offences, please contact the non-emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.
