Two men charged after shop worker punched in city centre

Two men have been charged after a shop worker was punched to the face after challenging a man reportedly stealing chocolate bars in Liverpool city centre on Wednesday (26 August).

We were called at 9.40am to the Spar on London Road where it was reported one of two men who had entered the shop together had started putting the bars under his shirt.

When challenged by a member of staff as he tried to leave, the second man reportedly became aggressive and punched him to the face, causing a serious facial injury requiring treatment at hospital.

Blake Potbury, 32 years, of no fixed address was arrested and later charged with Section 20 assault. He was remanded into custody to appear at court this morning where he was further remanded to appear again in court on 24 September.

Paul John Raywood, 45 years, also of no fixed address, was arrested and charged with theft from a shop and remanded into custody to appear at court this morning.

Detective Inspector Egerton said: “We take all reports of retail crime seriously and will not tolerate incidents which leave staff threatened, intimidated and even assaulted in their workplace.

“Shop theft is not a victimless crime – it can lead to people losing jobs when shops are forced to close due to repeated loss of stock, and can impact consumers when businesses increase prices in an effort to recoup lost revenue.

“We are committed to tackling retail crime and work with retailers, the security industry and other partners to disrupt and deter prolific offenders and reduced offending.

"We are determined to keep shopworkers safe from the harm caused with regular patrols in those areas retailers and the community tell us are suffering at the hands of offenders.”

“We would encourage anyone with information about retail crime to get in touch so we can investigate.”

To report a crime taking place contact the Merseyside Police social media desk @MerPolCC on X and Facebook. You can also report information via our website: https://www.merseyside.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/ or call 101.

Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their website here: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously.