Three men arrested after robbery in Cradley Heath, Sandwell

The arrests followed an incident in which a man was assaulted and robbed of his mobile phone in Hall Street at around 1.45am.

The attackers fled the scene but police later arrested three men, aged 23, 28 and 32, as part of #OpAdvance which has put extra police resources into Sandwell today.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: “We promptly detained three men after another man was assaulted and robbed of his mobile phone in Hall Street, Cradley Heath, at around 1.45am.

“The attackers fled in a car but following quick time enquiries we identified and traced three suspects. The men, aged 23, 28 and 32 have been taken into custody for questioning.

“We have also managed to retrieve the mobile phone.”

Extra officers have been deployed to patrol the streets, with specialist departments such as the road policing team, dog unit and drone team, out today as part of Operation Advance.

Activity over the next 24 hours will be focussed on policing priorities for Sandwell such as serious youth violence, anti-social behaviour, theft and county lines operations - the force said.