Two rewards are being offered to anyone that provides key information to police investigating four armed robberies in the Falmouth area.

The police announced yesterday that rewards amounting to £5,500 would be given to whoever gave information that led to the cases ending up in court.

DS Matt Boyling at Camborne police station, who is co-ordinating the enquiry, said: “This is welcome news that we hope may spur someone to come forward. It is possible someone believes their information is not important or they are not certain of its validity.

“I’d urge them to speak to us or Crimestoppers as we would want to assess the information ourselves. Our inquires can be very discreet and sources are not disclosed.”

The appeal follows four armed robberies in the Falmouth area since November last year.

Three of the robberies occurred in Falmouth itself.

The first took place at Wood Lane Social Club at around 11pm hours on Thursday, November 20 last year, when a man walked into the office carrying a pair of bolt cutters and threatened a member of staff before fleeing with an amount of cash.

In the second incident a man entered the Spar shop on Albany Road at around 10.50pm hours on Monday, November 24 and brandished a firearm before making off with just over £600.

The third Falmouth robbery took place on Friday, December 12, at the WC Rowe bakery in Old Hill. A female member of staff was threatened with a firearm by two men before they escaped with a small amount of cash.

The final robbery took place at Stithians Post Office at around 9.10am on Thursday, December 18. On this occasion, a man brandishing a weapon entered the secure area of the post office before leaving with an amount of cash.

Officers have not ruled out the possibility that some or all of the crimes may be linked and are therefore investigating the robberies as a series of crimes.

The post office is now offering a reward of £5,000, while an unnamed business is making £500 available.

DS Boyling added: “Detailed investigations into these extremely serious offences have highlighted a number of similar features and have led us to believe that they are a potential series of crimes.

“We would urge anyone with information regarding these robberies or who may recognise the man in the CCTV still to contact the police on 08452 777 444, quoting crime reference number GP/08/3159.”