Parker PR

The attempted robbery took place at Oakwell Business Centre, Barnsley, South Yorkshire just after 1pm on June 1st.

The man, an employee of recycling specialists SR Recycling in Barnsley received cuts to his head as it smashed the windscreen on impact while he was trying to stop three men from driving off from the scene. He also has cuts and bruising to his to his back and leg. He was taken to Barnsley Hospital, where he was said to be comfortable after an overnight stay; he is expected to be kept in hospital for at least another 24 hours.

The incident follows a series of criminal activity at Oakwell Business Centre, where businesses have been targeted by criminals who drive onto the business park on a daily basis. The Business Park is owned and manager by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council.

The incident occurred when the three men were seen loading scrap waste belonging to SR Recycling into their own van. When they were approached by members of staff from SR Recycling they offloaded the material in the belief they would be free to go. When they realised they were not, they tried to make their getaway, which is when the 59 year old man, father of Managing Director, Simon Robinson, was hit by the van.

"We have been telling Barnsley Council that we were at risk on this site for years, but we never realised it would come to this. If the van had hit my father one foot the other way he could have been dead; I have no doubt about that. The situation is ridiculous. It's like we have had to go back to basics and literally physically defend ourselves and our property on a daily basis. Barnsley Council needs to take responsibility for the security on the business park and make sure our property and our employees are safe.

"We have been telling the Council for years now that the security is ineffective and outdated. The CCTV is completely useless and the Council has recently taken the decision not to lock the gates. The message sent out to criminals is that they can come onto the site as and when they like," said Simon Robinson, MD of SR Recycling.

Today's incident follows an almost identical event on June 10th when men drove a van onto the business park and loaded a van with one ton of scrap steel from a skip outside the SR Recycling offices. Although the van drove by the CCTV cameras twice it did little to deter the criminals. The very next day they returned for more only to find employees of the company waiting for them. One man was later charged with theft.

"We are faced with this problem all the time. We run a legitimate business recycling waste from businesses and organisations but it seems these criminals believe they can simply pull up and drive away with our property. It's bad enough that they are hitting the profitability of our businesses but when it comes to people nearly being killed someone needs to do something and it needs to be fast," said Simon Robinson.

There are an estimated 40 different businesses on the Oakwell Business Centre, several of which have suffered from criminal attacks. These have ranged from handbags being stolen from offices to palates of cable being stolen and two high value trailers being dragged through fencing in the middle of the night.

This latest incident could prove to be the final straw for SR Recycling and its sister company SR Networks as the companies give serious consideration to relocating out of the area.

"The simple fact is we're losing money as a result of the poor security at this site. We estimate we lose nearly £1,500 in stolen scrap each year - and that's only what we know about! If our landlords took steps to make us feel safe here we might stay, but as it stands we are now actively looking to find a secure site where we do not risk losing our property or having someone killed by criminals," said Simon Robinson.

ENDS

For further information contact Graham Parker at Parker PR, www.parkerpr.com on 07977 448 306