Armed robbery at service station

Two men brandishing a knife and a meat cleaver stole cash from a petrol station in Rochdale.

At about midnight on Saturday 26 April 2008, the two men went into the kiosk at the Milnrow Filling Station on Newhey Road, Milnrow. Two members of staff were inside at the time.

One of the offenders, who was brandishing a meat cleaver, put a block of wood in the door to stop it from closing. The other offender who was carrying the knife then approached the till and demanded it be opened.

He then stole a quantity of cash and the pair fled in the direction of Milnrow.

No-one was injured during the robbery but the staff were badly shaken up.

Police have released CCTV stills of the offenders and are appealing to the public for information.

The offenders were dressed in distinctive clothing. The first offender brandishing the knife, who was white, was wearing a black body warmer top with blue jeans and a black and blue striped hat. He was also wearing red trainers. The second man was also white and wearing a grey or green hooded top, light-coloured jeans, white trainers and a black hat. He was the offender carrying a meat cleaver. Both were wearing scarves to mask their faces.

Detective Constable Ben Harris, based at Rochdale CID, said: "It is unusual for offenders not to be dressed completely in dark clothing. Some of the items of clothing worn by these two criminals are quite distinctive and it is possible someone from the local area will recognise them based on what they were wearing.

"If they do, I would urge them to come forward and contact us so we can trace these two individuals.

"The two men were carrying dangerous weapons and threatened to use them. This sort of criminal behaviour is unacceptable and caused staff a great deal of distress.

"If someone does recognise the two men from the CCTV images then please, do the right thing and contact us."

Anyone with information is asked to call Rochdale CID on 0161 856 4646 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Date article online: 04/05/2008