An Oldham bank is offering £25,000 as a reward for catching axe-wielding thieves who robbed thousands of pounds last month.
Around 5pm on Thursday, May 8, 2014, the balaclava-clad thieves forced their way into the NatWest bank on Middleton Road in Oldham, wielding an axe and a crowbar.
Two plumbers, working on a broken boiler at the time, were forced down into the bank’s cellar.
They took their mobile phones before threatening to hurt them if they tried to alert anyone.
Detective Constable Philip Wilson said: “The staff working inside the bank were extremely shocked and upset to be confronted by these criminals.
“The only saving grace is that they were not physically harmed.”
The British Banking Association have now offered a £25,000 reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the attackers.
“[This] is a life-changing sum of money,” DC Wilson said. “The difference it could make to someone is huge.
“Please, if you do know something that could help us catch these dangerous men, if you tell us what you know it could be the best decision you’ve ever made.
“If you do know something that could help us catch these dangerous men, if you tell us what you know it could be the best decision you’ve ever made.”
The thieves were wearing high-visibility jackets and balaclavas when they carried out the robbery.
They escaped in the back of a Black BMW parked on Harold Street, which was later found abandoned on Scott Lane in Middleton.
Anyone with information should call the police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Image courtesy of Ian Britton, with thanks.
