Fresh appeal for Wigan store robbers who hit shopper in face with hammer

At 9.50pm on Sunday 14 January 2018 two men donning balaclavas stormed the Spar on Woodnook Road in Appley Bridge.Officers have revealed that the suspects threatened staff before stealing a quantity of money and cigarettes. As they tried to flee they were confronted by a shopper, who they hit in the face with a hammer before running from the shop.

The man was left bleeding and onlookers, including staff, were "shaken" by their experience.One of the men was white, about 5ft 6ins, wearing all black and was carrying a hammer. The second robber was also white, about 6ft 3ins, of stocky build and was also wearing all black. Both had local accents. Detective Constable Ian Pennington, from Wigan’s CID, said: “This was a brazen robbery where these cowards harmed an innocent member of the public all for some cash and cigarettes. “Luckily the man wasn’t seriously injured but hitting anyone with a hammer could have had devastating consequences. “The staff were also understandably really shaken up by this as you don’t expect to be faced with masked thieves threatening you at work. “If someone knows who did this, or has any information about the robbery, they should call police immediately.” Information can be passed on by calling 101 quoting incident number 2022 of 14 January 2017. Details can also be passed on anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.