Brave shoppers restrain would-be robber

Brave members of the public who witnessed a robbery taking place restrained the offender until the police arrived to arrest him.

At about 6.15pm last night (Thursday 17 December), a man threatened a 71-year-old woman in the car park of the Aldi store at the Roe Acre Business Park, Heywood, demanding she hand over her car keys.

The victim refused and the pair got into a scuffle. The victim began shouting for help which resulted in the offender punching the woman in the face.

He ran off, but fellow shoppers in the car park, who were alerted by the woman's shouts, chased the man and restrained him until the police arrived.

David Crompton, 29, from Oldham, has been remanded in custody to appear at Rochdale Magistrates Court tomorrow.

Chief Superintendent John O'Hare said: "We are grateful for the public-spiritedness and bravery of these members of the public.

"We always try to protect the vulnerable members of our society, and on this occasion the help of these members of the community enabled us to carry out our duties. No person should put their personal safety at risk for the sake of property but on this occasion their brave actions have resulted in only minor injuries and the arrest of an offender who is an obvious danger to the public."