Man dies following assault in Rochdale Town Centre

Photo: Google, DigitalGlobe

Reed Hill, Rochdale

A man has died after being assaulted in Rochdale Town Centre.

Police were called by the ambulance service to Reed Hill at around 8.20pm on Sunday (1 May) to reports that a 65-year-old man was unconscious and not breathing after being assaulted. 

The man died a short time later.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of affray and remains in custody for questioning.

Detective Superintendent John Chadwick said: “First and foremost I would like to extend my most sincere condolences to the family of the gentleman.

“We currently have specially trained officers providing support to them at this difficult time.

“We are still in the early stages of our enquiries and are yet to establish the full circumstances leading up to this man’s death but initial reports have suggested that there was some sort of altercation a short time prior to police being called.

“Given the time and location, it is possible that there may have been a number of witnesses to what happened and I would urge them to please come forward and contact police.”

Anybody with information should contact police on 101, quoting incident number 2043 of 01/05/16, or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.