Appeal for information after brutal hammer attack on Wigan man

Stew Fleming, whose mum and stepdad were targeted in the attack, has released CCTV footage taken from Monday evening outside the Saddleback Road home in Norley.

At around 7.10pm, the security system captured two men approaching the home where Mick Brown, 53, and his wife Yvonne, 59, were spending the evening in.

The culprits knocked on the door before forcing themselves into the home where they attempted to subdue Mick with hammers concealed in their jackets.

“My mum answered the door thinking it was a delivery,” said Stew. “It’s that time of year and she has ordered things to the house.

“She was confronted with two lads who pushed her inside, one of them went straight into the living room.

“Luckily my mum managed to get away from them and make her way out of the house.”

In the footage, Yvonne can be seen running from the house with one of the attackers trying to drag her back.

“Meanwhile the other guy had gone in and had hit Mick over the head twice with a hammer,” added Stew. “Mick had started getting the better of him but then the other one turned up.

“They tried to get his kneecaps with the hammer and then gave him another couple of blows to the head.

“They crushed his wedding ring onto his finger with one of the blows and finally knocked him out.”

During this time, brave Yvonne had managed to find refuge at a neighbour’s house, where she called police.

Stew said that he heard the man had run down City Road, past St Francis of Assisi Church and jumped into a Grey Mercedes.

Just the night before the attack, his two young children aged six and nine, had been round at the Saddleback Road home with Yvonne and Mick.

“It wasn’t even late at night,” added Stew. “The kids could have easily been there.

“It’s not an unreasonable hour for children to still be up.

“There are people who go out to rob someone and there are people going to properly hurt someone.

“They need to be off the streets as soon as possible.”

Mick, who is diabetic, has been thoroughly assessed and doctors believe he will make a full recovery.

Detective Constable Andrew Partington, from GMP’s Wigan borough, said: “It is completely unacceptable that a couple have been left in fear in their own home and the actions of these men could easily have had devastating consequences. “We have launched a full investigation and as we continue with our enquiries and our thoughts remain with the victims as they recover from this ordeal. “We know that the men were wearing dark clothes and distinctive black hats which covered their ears and we’re appealing to anyone with information to get in touch so we can find those responsible.” Anyone with any information should call the police on 101, quoting incident number 1748 of 10 December 2018. Information can also be passed on anonymously by calling the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.