Three men were pursued and detained by police following a ram raid on the Howard Centre in Bedford.
Police were called to the Horne Lane entrance of the Howard Centre at around 2am this morning (Monday), after receiving reports of a vehicle driving at an ATM machine.
In a statement, Bedfordshire Police said: “There was a short pursuit, however with assistance from response officers, the armed policing unit, the dog unit, and the police helicopter, three men aged 19, 22 and 46 were detained.
“They are currently in police custody for questioning.”
The Howard Centre, which is home to TK Maxx, New Look and Timpsons, is owned by Bedford Borough Council and is run separately to the Harpur Centre, despite them being interconnected.
A Borough spokesperson paid tribute to staff from the Harpur Centre in helping to get the Howard Centre open this morning.
The spokesperson said they had made the area safe and the centre was trading as normal, despite a “great deal of damage done to the main entrance and impacting on a number of storefronts.”
If you have information, please report it to Bedfordshire Police online or by calling 101, quoting reference 40/10183/22.
Crimestoppers can be contacted via the Crimestoppers website or by calling 0800 555 111.
