Boy suffers broken nose and loses tooth after wrestling move used on him

A teenager suffered a broken nose and lost a front tooth after being subjected to a wrestling move by an unknown offender in Heywood.

The boy, 13, was on Buxton Street at about 10.00pm on Sunday 10 July 2011, when he was approached from behind by his attacker, who used a “sleeper” hold on him.

The move, popular with professional wrestlers, involves someone grabbing a person by the neck, restricting their supply of oxygen, resulting in the person losing consciousness.

In this case the boy fell to the ground, smashing his face and causing serious injuries.

PCSO Jenny George, said: “Wrestlers are highly experienced sports professionals who spend years practising their moves.

“To replicate this without the appropriate training is nothing short of reckless and in this case an innocent victim suffered very nasty injuries.

“I want to stress the dangers of mimicking these moves but also want to warn whoever is responsible that we are treating this as an unprovoked assault and if anyone has any information that can help us identify the culprit please come forward.”

Anyone with information can call the Heywood Neighbourhood Policing Team on 0161 856 8589, or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.