Man viciously beaten in Castleton robbery

Robbers in Castleton attacked a man before stealing his wallet and bag.

The victim had numerous cuts and bruises to his head and face as a result of the attack, in which he was punched to the floor, dragged across a street and continuously beaten and kicked.

At about 6.25am on Thursday 5 March the 26-year old victim was walking along Heywood Road when he saw two men walking towards him.

Driving slowly alongside the men was a silver car, similar to a Ford Mondeo.

As the two men passed the victim one of them suddenly punched him to the floor.

Both men then started to attack him, demanding his wallet, phone and backpack.

They dragged him across the street and into a nearby fire exit, where they continued to beat him, and kick him, eventually stealing all his things.

One of the men is described as white, in his mid 20s, and had a skinhead. He was wearing a light-coloured t-shirt with short sleeves and dark pants at the time of the attack.
The other man was also white, and in his mid 20s.

Shazia Maqsood, investigative assistant at Rochdale CID, said: "This incident was a brutal and unprovoked attack on an innocent man who was just walking to work. We want to appeal to anyone who thinks they might have seen these men walking in the area at this early hour, especially since one of them was just wearing a t-shirt, and must have looked very cold. We also want information about the car that could be linked to this violent robbery."

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 0161 856 8632 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.