Women threatened with handgun by man during burglary in broad daylight

At around 10am on Monday 23 December 2019 police were called to reports of a man entering a property on The Avenue in Leigh, and making threats with a handgun.

The man – whose face was covered and is described as white, 5ft 7ins tall, of an average build and has a local accent – rang the doorbell of the property before pushing his way in and threatening two women with a small black handgun while demanding cash.

No one was injured during the incident and the offender didn’t leave with anything.

The offender was seen fleeing on foot along The Avenue towards the direction of Leigh town centre wearing all black clothing.

Officers are keen to hear from anyone who may have been around the area at the time and could have seen the suspect making his way to or from the incident.

Detective Constable Alistair MacMillan, of GMP’s Wigan division, said: “This is was a frightening ordeal for the two women inside the house who were left understandably shaken as a result of the incident.

“Due to the time of this incident being during daylight, we are confident there will be members of the public who may have seen the offender make his way from the scene and we urge anyone who thinks they may have information to get in touch.

“We also ask anyone around the area of The Avenue who has CCTV in operation to contact us as there could be important footage out there that could be key to this investigation.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 7967 quoting incident number 955 of 23/12/2019. Details can also be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.