Police Incidents at Intu Watford

Police were called to Intu in Watford in the early hours of this morning to deal with two incidents. They were called to the first incident on Gladstone Road at approximately 2.35am following reports of two cars on fire, a blue Audi and a green Polo. Several other vehicles were also damaged by the fire, including: a blue Ford, a silver Honda, a white Nissan and a white Volkswagen. The fires are currently being treated as suspicious and no one was injured. Police were called to the second incident at approximately 2.40am following reports of a break-in at the Harlequin Centre. Offender(s) had forced their way into the centre via shoe shop Gordon Scott. Once inside the building they had then forced their way into the shop windows of Beaverbrooks, Ernest Jones and Swag and then stole jewellery and watches before leaving the scene via Gordon Scott. As a result of this break in, a section of the lower floor of the Harlequin Centre will remain closed off while police carry out their investigations. Four men wearing dark clothing and balaclavas were seen to leave the building and made off in an unknown direction. At the moment police are not ruling out that the two incidents could be linked. Detective Inspector Hannah Mann is leading the investigation into the incidents and said: “We would like to speak with anyone who has any information in relation to either of these incidents. Anyone who remembers seeing anything suspicious or unusual around the time of the incident should contact police immediately. “We would also like people to make contact with us if they remember seeing anything unusual or suspicious prior to the incident. Did you see a strange vehicle in the area in the days leading up to the incident or something else that seemed odd at the time? Traffic delays are expected in Watford close to the Harlequin Centre as a result of these two incidents. Road closures have been put in place on Gladstone Road and Queens Road while police carry out initial investigations. Motorists are advised to avoid the area if possible as delays are expected. Any witnesses to these incidents, anyone with information or anyone who may have seen any suspicious behaviour recently in the affected areas are asked to contact police as soon as possible via the non-emergency number 101.