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Brave shopkeeper
grabs gun in robbery
The shop where the incident took place
A MAJOR investigation is underway into an armed gun raid on a convenience store.
During the incident, a shopkeeper grappled with one of the two armed robbers, forcing him to drop his gun.
But the two robbers did manage to get away with the contents of the till.
At around 10.15pm on Saturday, two masked men stormed into the No 1 convenience store in St Helens Road, Leigh, brandishing handguns.
They ordered the shopkeeper, a 54-year-old man, to open the till but he refused.
One of the robbers grabbed the till but the shopkeeper held onto it and during the ensuing struggle the offender dropped the handgun.
The robber eventually managed to take the till and both men ran out of the shop with the till and a quantity of cash.
Both robbers then ran off.
No-one was injured but the shopkeeper was left shocked by the incident.
Both offenders were white. One had a slim build and wearing a grey two-tone camouflage jacket, a black scarf round the face, black gloves, grey tracksuit bottoms and carrying a black rucksack with white writing.
The other offender was of medium build and wearing a dark jumper, black balaclava with black or dark gloves and tracksuit bottoms.
DC Paul Finnen, of Wigan CID, said: “This must have been a disturbing ordeal for the shopkeeper but I want to reassure him that we have a team of detectives working to catch these desperate robbers.
“We have recovered one handgun and now need the public’s assistance to help us take another weapon, and two dangerous criminals, out of circulation.
“If you saw anyone acting suspiciously on or near St Helens Road before or after the incident then please get in touch.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Wigan CID on 0161 856 7295 or independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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