Shop workers at village stores and post offices are in danger as new figures reveal the robbery rate in the district has more than doubled.

A spate of ram raids and armed robberies have spread across the district, with a host of supermarkets and smaller village shops being targeted.

Added to other robberies the latest figures show the rate has risen by 110.8 per cent - or 41 more offences.

The serious crime rate overall has also risen.

The latest incident saw Earls Colne’s Co-op struck by ram-raiders in the early hours of Sunday morning.

A digger was used to rip the cash machine out of the shop front on High Street.

This follows a recent trend of smaller villages being targeted.

Sible Hedingham’s Co-op was targeted in May, with a stolen JCB used to again rip a cash machine from the front of the shop. As well as recent ram-raid’s, the start of this year saw a spate of armed robberies across the district.

January alone saw staff threatened at both the Chelmsford Star Co-op in Church Street, Braintree, as well as the Co-op store in the Broadway, Silver End.

Staff were also threatened and money stolen from the Great Yeldham Post Office, and the Co-op in Abels Road, Halstead in the same month.

Figures comparing crimes between August 2016 and July 2017 with August 2015 and July 2016 also show all crime has increased by 5.3 per cent.

Violence without injury is on the up, with a 20.5 per cent increase, or 245 more offences.

Home burglaries have decreased by 18.8 per cent, with other burglaries decreasing by 5.9 per cent.

Figures were released ahead of a public meeting organised by Police and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst at Halstead’s Queens Hall from 6.30pm tonight.