A gang of hammer-wielding thugs robbed a second-hand goods store in Wythenshawe yesterday and fled with cash, mobile phones and other electrical goods.
The three men on push bikes struck at CeX on The Birtles at around 10am and one of the men armed with a hammer entered the store.
The other two men then burst into the store also armed with hammers and jumped over the counter. They then crammed mobile phones and other electrical goods into a bag and forced staff to hand over cash from the till.
They then fled towards Wythenshawe market on their bikes which were later found abandoned. Police believe that they may have made off in a black car.
Detective Inspector Ian Cottrell said: “Thankfully the staff were not injured during this robbery, but understandably they were extremely distressed to be confronted by three men wielding hammers and had no idea whether or not they were about to be attacked.
“We need to catch these men so I am making a direct appeal to people in the community to help us find them.
“It is probable they will seek to offload the stolen goods as soon as possible to make a quick sale and line their pockets, so I would urge people to be on the lookout for anyone selling cheap mobile phones without being able to provide previous proof of ownership.
“If you see someone trying to do this, or are offered a phone on the cheap, please contact the police as you could be crucial to helping us catch these dangerous offenders.”
The first man is described as white, about 5ft 9in tall, of a medium build and wearing black clothing which also covered his face and mouth. The second offender was slightly taller, between 5ft 11in tall and 6ft tall, and of a slimmer build but wearing similar clothing, and the third man was wearing a dark grey Adidas tracksuit.
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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