Armed robbery at Middleton bookmakers

A man was shot in the chest during an armed robbery at a Middleton bookmakers.

The man, 57, was shot by a ball-bearing gun when two masked men went into the Ben Holmes bookmakers on Chapel Walk, Middleton, shortly before 11.45am on Saturday 20 March 2010.

The thieves, who were dressed in dark clothing with their hoods up, approached the counter brandishing the weapon and demanded cash.

A struggle ensued between the robbers and the man, during which he was shot in the chest.

The offenders then fled empty-handed. One of the men was said to have ginger hair and police are appealing to anyone who saw these men or who has any information about the attempted robbery to come forward.

The man went to the North Manchester General Hospital to have the pellets removed. He was released shortly afterwards.

Detective Constable Mike Berger, of Rochdale CID, said: "This is the second time in a matter of months this bookmakers has been targeted, but this time a ball-bearing gun was fired and the victim suffered a nasty chest injury.

"To descend to this level of violence shows we are looking for some quite dangerous individuals who have no qualms about firing a gun, and we are doing everything we can to find them and lock them up.

"I want to assure members of the public that incidents like this are extremely rare in Middleton and gun crime in our communities is even more rare. This is an isolated incident and I do not want people to be unduly alarmed.

"What I would say though is that if anyone has information that will help us find these men, that they come forward and speak to us so we can identify those responsible and deal with them harshly - putting them behind bars.

"I would also strongly urge shopkeepers to be vigilant at this time and ensure all security measures are checked and are up-to-date."

Anyone with information is asked to call Rochdale CID on 0161 856 1976 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.