Two separate women were victims of "extremely upsetting" burglaries in Nottingham. In one of them, a man threatened a woman with a meat cleaver, bundled her upstairs and manhandled her.
Police believe the crimes, which took place in Hyson Green and Sherwood this week, could be linked. In both burglaries, a man made threats with a blade and demanded cash and jewellery.
Detective Inspector Kayne Rukas, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "These were extremely upsetting incidents for the victims and we are determined to track down the person or people responsible. Incidents like this are thankfully very rare and I would urge anyone with concerns to speak to an officer.
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"While it is very early in our investigation, we believe the incidents may be linked to one another. However, we are exploring a number of lines of enquiry at this stage."
In the first incident, at around 8.20pm January 23, a man barged his way into a home in St Paul's Terrace, Hyson Green. A Nottinghamshire Police spokesperson said: "The man threatened a woman inside the home with a meat cleaver and demanded cash and jewellery.
"The victim handed over her phone and earrings before the offender demanded more jewellery and bundled the woman upstairs. He took further jewellery from upstairs and manhandled the woman, leaving her with bruises to her upper arms."
The offender is described as an Asian man, aged in his early 30s, around 6ft tall, of slim build. He was wearing all black clothing including a black woolly hat or cap, white trainers and a surgical face mask. He spoke in Punjabi throughout the incident.
The second incident took place in The Close, Sherwood, at around 7pm on Wednesday, January 25, when an offender entered a home through an insecure door into a living room area. He demanded cash and jewellery from a woman.
The victim gave him her mobile phone, including bank cards within the phone case, earrings and cash. The offender, described as an Asian man who was tall and skinny and spoke Urdu, then walked away from the scene.
He was wearing a face mask and had a black beard and black hair. The victim's mobile phone was found in nearby Woodthorpe Avenue by a member of the public about one hour later.
Det Insp Rukas said: “Both incidents occurred on busy residential streets and I would appeal to anyone who may have seen anything which could assist us to get in touch. Drivers may also have dash cam footage of the incidents and again I would urge them to come forward."
Anyone with information should call 101, quoting incident 692 of 23 January 2023 or incident 627 of 25 January 2023.
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