Police seize knife and arrest man after shopping centre disturbance

Neighbourhood police have seized a knife and arrested a man after the weapon was dropped in a shopping precinct.

It was reported to police that a man had attempted to flee after failing to pay his taxi fare from Nottingham to Cotgrave Shopping Centre, in Candleby Lane, Cotgrave.

During a melee, a large knife fell to the floor before the man escaped from the scene.

Officers have been trawling CCTV footage and carrying out house-to-house and other local  inquiries since the incident, around 2.20pm on 5 November 2024.

The investigation led to the arrest of a 19-year-old man a few days later on suspicion of possession of a knife in a public place and making off without payment.

Sergeant David Hodson, of the Rushcliffe neighbourhood policing team, said:

“Thankfully, knife crime is rare in Rushcliffe but we take the small number of reports received very seriously.

“We know this incident will have been witnessed by a number of people at the shopping precinct so I hope they welcome our robust response.

“Although the arrest is an important step, I’d also encourage anyone who has any information and has not yet spoken to an officer to get in touch.

“Likewise if anyone has any relevant CCTV, dashcam, mobile phone or doorbell footage, please contact police.”

Anyone with any information should call 101, quoting incident number 349 of 5 November 2024, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Police teams in Nottinghamshire are taking part in a national week of action on knife crime, Sceptre, which began on Monday.

Throughout the week of action, knife amnesty bins will be situated inside stations, shared services and other locations.

For more information about Sceptre, visit: Operation Sceptre: Nottinghamshire Police