Man attacked with machete

A man had his arm broken by a machete as three men tried to rob his home in Middleton.

The incident happened at around 8.00pm on Friday 29 March 2013, when three men armed with a machete smashed their way into a house on Lands End Road.

The three men, who had their faces covered, smashed through the back door and demanded the car keys from the occupants – a man and a woman.

When they refused to hand over the keys, they were subjected to a violent attack, which resulted in the 43-year-old man’s arm being broken as he was struck with the machete.

The three men then fled empty-handed, heading in the direction of Manchester Old Road.

The first offender, who was armed with the machete, is white and described as 5ft 8in tall, stocky build with green eyes. He was wearing a black hooded top, baseball cap and scarf around his face.

The second offender is white and was wearing a baseball cap and black hooded top with black tracksuit bottoms.

The third offender was white and described as mid 20s, wearing dark clothing.

Police are investigating whether this is linked to a similar incident on 5 December 2012, when four masked men forced their way into another house on Lands End Road and fled empty-handed. No-one was injured during this incident.

Detective Constable Charles Stewart said: “This is an appalling attack on a family in the sanctity of their own home, a place where they should feel safe. There were also two young children in the house at the time.

“We have a number of detectives investigating this case to try and identify those responsible and are appealing for anyone who saw these men before they went into the house on Lands End Road, or who saw them leaving the area after the attack, to get in touch with us.

“These three men thought nothing of using extreme violence against a family who refused to hand over their property, and it is vital we find these dangerous men as soon as possible so we can take them off our streets.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police in Rochdale on 0161 856 8608. Alternatively, you can pass on information anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.