Police appeal after man's jaw broken in assault

Police in Rochdale are appealing for the public’s help following an assault in Littleborough which left a man hospitalised with a broken jaw.

The incident happened in July but due to the extent of the man's injuries the police have only just received a full account of what happened.

The 37-year-old victim and his wife parked their car outside the Royal Oak, off Church Street, at about 5.30pm on Friday 30 July 2010.

They walked to the pub and the victim realised he left his wallet in the car and walked back to it.

As he walked past the front of Bar Wizards he saw a group of about 10 youths, one of which made a disparaging remark.

As he turned round to see who said this he heard a loud thud and felt a painful blow to the left side of his face. He didn't see what or who did this to him.

When he turned around he saw the group of youths running off in different directions.

After the incident he went to a nearby pub where he began drinking for the evening. He noticed that his teeth weren't meeting correctly but dismissed it at the time.

It was only the next morning when he decided to visit Rochdale Infirmary where he was found to have a complete fracture to the left hand side of his jaw. As a result he had to have his jaw wired for the next month.

Due to his injuries he was unable to give a full account t of what happened for some time and is only now speaking properly again.

Detective Constable Claire Rawcliffe, of Rochdale CID, said: "We are making this appeal now because the victim has been unable to tell us the full story up until now.

"He also has problems with his eyes meaning he struggles to focus, so he cannot describe any of his attackers in details. He can only say they were all wearing dark coloured clothing and in their late teens to early 20s.

"This appears to be a violent, opportunistic attack by a group of youths clearly spoiling for a fight. They left a man with a broken jaw and are a threat to innocent members of the public.

"Given this happened at tea time I am confident that people would have seen this group. Cast your minds back to the end of July - did you see a group of youths running away near the Royal Oak pub.

"It may not have seemed significant at the time, but it could help us catch whoever did this."

Anyone with information is asked to call Rochdale CID on 0161 856 4646 or independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.