Shop worker hurt as ram raiders set car alight on Ladypool Road

Police are hunting two people who reversed a vehicle into a shop on Ladypool Road and then set it on fire, injuring a worker.

The force said it was called to the convenience store in the early hours of Thursday 8 October, at around 12.15am. Damage was caused to the shop, and a worker suffered leg injuries.

Mobile phone footage from the scene shows a truck being reversed into the shop front. Two people are then seen getting out, pouring an accelerant over the vehicle and setting it alight, before apparently escaping in another vehicle waiting nearby.

No arrests have been made.

A police spokesperson said: "We're investigating after a car was reversed into a shop and a fire started in Ladypool Road, Birmingham. Damage was caused to the premises and a worker sustained leg injuries. We're working to establish who was involved."

Anyone with information can contact police via Live Chat on the force website, or call 101 and quote 20/427841/26.

"A step too far"

The footage drew angry reactions online. One person wrote: "That is a step too far. There could have been a child or someone's parent or loved one."

Ladypool Road, in Sparkbrook and Balsall Heath, is famous for its restaurants and independent shops and is part of the city's Balti Triangle. It is usually busy until late in the evening.

Fake cigarettes seized in Bartley Green

On the same day, Birmingham City Council's trading standards team and local police raided a 24-hour convenience shop off Hillwood Road in Bartley Green, where they seized counterfeit tobacco products worth around £700.

Bartley Green Police said: "Our team will now be waiting to see what the outcome will be for the store after the operation."

The raid was part of Operation Fearless, which targets crime affecting high streets. A second raid took place the same day in Oldbury, where a 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply counterfeit goods and suspected immigration offences.

Why illegal tobacco matters

Trading standards officers say illegal and counterfeit cigarettes are often sold cheaply to children, are not made to safety standards, and fund organised crime. Councils can apply to the courts to close shops caught selling them repeatedly, and Birmingham City Council secured a closure order on one such shop earlier this year after a trading standards operation.

Residents can report shops they suspect of selling illegal tobacco or vapes to trading standards through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133, or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Ram raids and arson

Using a vehicle to break into a shop and then setting fire to it is treated very seriously by the courts, because of the danger to anyone inside and to homes above or beside the premises. Police say that dashcam or doorbell footage from the area between midnight and 12.30am on Thursday could help them identify the vehicle used to escape.