Pubs warned after attacks

A city's licensees have been urged to be vigilant following a spate of terrifying attacks on pubs in the Coventry area. Coventry Licensed Victuallers Association has issued the warning to its 77 members after a number of licensees and bar staff were subjected to violent attacks in Sunday night raids in recent weeks. LVA secretary Ray Hoare said: "We are issuing a circular to our members and keeping in contact with the police. "Pub burglaries are becoming all too prevalent and the level of violence being used is frightening. "We are urging our members to be on their guard and report anything suspicious to the police." The warning comes after an assistant manager at the Red Lion at Corley Moor was bound, gagged and threatened with a shotgun by raiders who helped themselves to a substantial amount of money from the till. That attack followed a raid the previous Sunday at the Shire Horse at Henley Green, Coventry, when licensee David Parkinson and his girlfriend Rachel MacNiven were forced to lie on the floor and were gagged and blindfolded in a terrifying ordeal while raiders stole money. A week earlier the Hearsall Golf Club at Earlsdon had been targeted and the club steward and his wife tied up. The raiders stole jewellery and personal items from their flat. Trident strikes Police officers from Operation Trident raided a nightclub in Leyton, east London, last week. Around 12 officers burst into the Dance Culture Club, at Lea Bridge Road, at around 7am one morning and arrested threepeople for alleged possession of Class A and B drugs. An imitation gun was also found on the premises by police. The club has been shut down and a police spokesman said Waltham Forest licensing officers will try to ensure it stays that way. Men bailed after raid Police launched a drugs raid on a Slug & Lettuce in Tonbridge, Kent, it has been revealed. Around 25 officers and sniffer dogs entered the pub shortly before midnight on Friday, 4 October. Two men, both from the Tonbridge area, were arrested for alleged possession of class-A drugs. They are on police bail until 20 November while further inquiries are carried out. A spokesman for SFI said: "We do not allow drug-taking at our premises and as far as we are aware, there is not a drug problem there." Gunman hits wine bar Armed police were called to Grapes Wine Bar in Walthamstow, east London, after a man repeatedly fired a shotgun into the front door at 1am on Saturday. Following an argument with two doormen, the suspect, described as an 18-year-old black man, was asked to leave the Hoe Street bar. He fired five to six rounds of ammunition into the front doors and fled. No-one was hurt, but police are treating the shooting as a major firearms incident and would like to hear from anyone who has any information. Witnesses or anyone with information about the incident is urged to call DC McSharry at Operation Trident on 020 8529 8666. Detectives probe scam Detectives are warning businesses to be on their guard after a High Wycombe trader was targeted as part of a South African bank account scam. The businessman alerted police after receiving an advanced-fee letter from a man who claimed to be part of the South African government ministry. The writer asked to use his bank account. The letter, marked "strictly confidential and urgent", requested permission to transfer more than $16m into the businesses account, and offered a share of 25% of the sum. The fraud, known as the 419 Scam, involves the victims passing on their bank account details, but instead of money being transferred into their accounts, it is withdrawn. PC Steve Fox, of the Chiltern Vale Fraud Unit, said: "We'd advise people not to enter into this kind of agreement. If anyone receives any letters of this nature, please forward them to police.