Man victim of double robbery in two days

POLICE are appealing for information after an Oldham man fell victim to a burglary and a terrifying armed robbery within two days.

The 61-year-old man's house was broken into on Landsberg Terrace, Failsworth, between the hours of 11.30am and 1.10pm on Thursday, November 10.

The unknown offenders forced entry via the back door and after they ransacked upstairs, they fled with CCTV equipment, an amount of cash, a passport, a digital camera and a digital video camera. At around 10.50pm the next day, the man was in his living room when he heard a bang at the front door.

As he went to inspect, the victim could see three men kicking at the door and demanding he opened it before two of them forced their way into his home, again via the back door, and surrounded him in his living room.

They threatened him with a hammer and a knuckle duster and snatched his phone and keys, which one of the men used to get into the driver's seat of the victim's pick-up truck.

The victim struggled with the man in the vehicle, before he was threatened with a hammer and the man drove the pick-up truck towards Ashton Road. The other two men ran in the same direction. A witness reported seeing three men getting out of a Citroen Berlingo on Richmond Road shortly before the incident, which two of the men were later seen returning to.

Scream

All three men are described as between 20 and 30-years-old, spoke with local accents and wore dark clothing and face coverings. Two of them were wearing "Scream" masks and dark gloves. One was wearing red mesh-like gloves.

One of the men is described as around 6ft tall, of stocky build and was armed with a hammer. Another is described as around 5ft 4ins to 5ft 6ins tall, and of slim build.

The final man is described as around 5ft 10ins tall, of slim build and was carrying a baseball bat.

Police Constable Jen Tattersall said: "Either of these offences in isolation would represent a traumatising incident for anyone to go through; together they amount to a truly shocking experience for this victim. The same man has become a victim of burglary and less than 36 hours later endured an armed robbery in his own home."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101.