Police in appeal after cash van attack

Dashcam footage of a man running through a field in Mossley with suspected bags of cash

POLICE have released bizarre dashcam footage of a man running through a field in Mossley with bags of cash.

They want to identify the man who is dressed in black and is seen climbing over barbed wire on to the road.

Police believe it may be linked to an attack on a cash transit van driver at Asda in Old Church Street, Newton Heath, earlier in the day on January 18.

At about 1.50pm, a man wearing dark clothes and a multi-coloured motorcycle helmet threatened to blind the van driver with liquid in a squeezy bottle.

He snatched bags filled with cash and a deposit box before speeding off on a Yamaha R6 motorcycle, which was driven by another man wearing a dark North Face jacket, blue jeans and a multi-coloured helmet.

Less than ten minutes later police received a call saying that what is believed to have been the same bike had been spotted along with a white van being driven by a third man. Police later discovered the bike on fire.

About 20 minutes later in Mossley, a motorist saw two men running across some fields. One was filmed on a dashcam carrying bags filled with cash. The men were running away from a white van which had been abandoned on Broad Carr Lane.

Police officers could not find the men but an unopened cash box containing money was discovered.

Detective Constable Phil Caine said: "The nature of this incident is truly shocking and we need to make sure those responsible are off our streets, unable to cause any more harm.

"I am hoping that by releasing the CCTV and dashcam footage we will be able to identify the people in the footage, specifically the man running with the cash bags.

"If you recognise the people in the footage or recognise the descriptions of the people in the area at that time, please get in touch."

Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 4024 or Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111.