Taxi driver shot at by armed robbers

Grasmere Street is currently cordoned off by police

A taxi driver in Rochdale was shot at by armed robbers last night - the third firearms incident in the town in the past three weeks.

Shortly after 1.20am on Friday 9 October 2015 three men approached a 29-year-old taxi driver who was sat in his car on Grasmere Street. They threatened him with a knife; demanding his mobile phone and cash and, as the victim started to drive away, one of the men shot at the car with a handgun. The offenders fled on foot in the direction of Grouse Street. The victim was not injured and an investigation has been launched to trace the offenders.

The men are described as black and were wearing black clothes.

The man with the gun is further described as tall, between 25 and 30-years-old, clean shaven and with black hair. He was wearing a black hooded top and bottoms.

Detective Inspector Andrew Duncan of Rochdale division said: "I understand that members of the community will be alarmed by what happened, as this is the second incident in a matter of weeks where a gun has been used in Rochdale.

"We are not linking this to any other recent firearms incidents and I want to offer my assurances that we are doing all we can to find the people that did this. This was a violent attempt to rob a taxi driver and we simply will not tolerate gun-crime in our community.

"Thankfully, the man was not injured and we have stepped up patrols in the area to offer reassurance to the local community."

"This happened in the early hours of the morning so there may not have been many people round at that time, but if you were and saw the men or have any information at all, please get in touch with police.

Anyone with information is asked to call officers on 0161 856 9961 or on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.