Men brandishing gun and meat cleaver attack member of staff in Heywood armed robbery

Photo: Google, DigitalGlobe

The Village Convenience Store, Middleton Road, Heywood

Two men brandishing a gun and a meat cleaver assaulted a member of staff at the Village Convenience Store in Heywood in an armed robbery on Friday evening (11 March).

Officers attended just after 9pm and established that two males entered the shop; one male threatened the victim with a meat cleaver whilst the second male threatened the victim with a gun before assaulting him.

Both offenders then fled the scene along Middleton Road in the direction of Heywood Fire Station.

The offenders are described as white males thought to be in their mid-20s. One male was wearing a blue coat with a grey fur hood, grey tracksuit bottoms and white trainers. The second male was wearing a black padded coat with a hoody underneath, grey jogging bottoms and black trainers with a white trim.

During the robbery, the victim was struck to the head multiple times causing injuries that have required hospital treatment. The offenders left the store empty-handed.

Detective Sergeant Taylor of GMP’s Rochdale district, said: “This was a terrifying ordeal for the victim in which he courageously defended himself.

"We’re following all available lines of enquiry to identify these offenders and we're appealing to anyone who may have been in the area at the time and saw the offenders either before or after the incident. Did you witness anyone behaving suspiciously? Anyone with information, no matter how small, should get in touch with police.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 8719 quoting incident number 2976 of 11/03/22. Alternatively, details can be passed on anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.