Armed Robbery and Police Pursuit

Detectives in Middleton are appealing for witnesses to an armed robbery  and  subsequent police chase on Wednesday 19 January 2005.

At approximately 6.25am officers received reports of an armed robbery at  the Co-Op late shop on Kirkway in Middleton. The robbery was in progress  when officers were called and they arrived in time to pursue two offenders  who had escaped the scene by car.

It is believed two men wearing balaclavas approached the shop at  approximately 6am when the shop manager and a colleague were just opening  up. They confronted the two employees with a screwdriver and forced them  inside the shop. They made the manager deactivate the alarm system and  then open up the safe.

They took a quantity of cash out of the safe and then searched the store  before leaving via the same door. They got into a black BMW and made their  escape along Mainway.

They travelled down the wrong side of Mainway and were pursued by a fully  signed police car. As the police car drew up alongside the BMW it was  rammed off the road.

The men were then seen to jump out of the BMW and get into a silver,  Citroen Xsara Picasso people carrier that was parked on Mainway. The  Citroen travelled at high speed along Mainway, onto Manchester New Road,  through red lights and then turned onto Victoria Avenue, past the motorway  and up Rochdale Road towards Blackley.

Detective Constable Joe Clarke of Middleton CID said: "This was a brazen  robbery and escape, that appear to have been carefully planned.

"The speed at which the offenders drove to get away from the scene showed  no regard for the safety of other road users and members of the public.

 "Both cars that were used in the escape had previously been reported  stolen. I believe the Citroen had been parked on Mainway the day before in  preparation for the robbery. Thankfully neither of the shop employees was injured during the robbery and the officer driving the police car only sustained whiplash injuries in the pursuit."