A gang of ‘ruthless’ thugs repeatedly kicked a man in the ribs as they pilfered his pockets in a ‘brutal’ Manchester robbery.
At around 12.30am on July 28 four men approached another man, 29, in Ancoats, Manchester, as he walked across the grassland near to Pollard Street.
One thug punched the victim to the ground and demanded his phone and MP3 player as they stood on his throat.
The others then held him down as the first offender went through the victim’s pockets, stealing another mobile phone and a wallet.
They then demanded he give them the passcode to his phone and when he refused, kicked him repeatedly in the ribs and threatened to kill him.
Detective Constable Marie Eldred said: “This was a particularly brutal attack and a terrifying ordeal for the victim.
“These men were ruthless when it came to getting what they wanted and did not hesitate to violently assault the victim when he tried to stand up to them.”
The victim desperately called for help during the attack and he eventually caught the attention of local residents, who shouted at the offenders to stop and called the police.
The first offender spoke with a Manchester accent and has been described as a white man, aged around 23-25 years old, very slim build with short, light-coloured hair.
He was wearing blue jeans, a long white t-shirt with two horizontal black stripes and black number on and a thick silver chain.
The second offender was wearing a white hoody and is of mixed race and aged between 25-28 years.
He is of medium build, around 5ft9in tall and has short, curly dark hair.
The third offender fitted the description of a white man of medium build, aged between 23 and 25. He was about 5ft 9in with short, dark hair. He was wearing a long sleeve dark top at the time of the attack.
The fourth offender was a white man in his early 20s, of medium build with short hair.
Det Const Eldred added: “Thankfully the local residents were quick to react to the situation and called police after warning the attackers away.”
Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101 or 0161 8563521 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Image via Google Maps, with thanks.
