The owner of a convenience store raided SIX times since July last year says police 'just don't seem to care' that his shop is being repeatedly targeted by armed thugs.
In the latest attempted robbery on Friday (March 11), two men with an imitation gun and a meat cleaver attacked the lone shop till operator in the Village Convenience Store on Middleton Road in Heywood. The worker, a 46-year-old ex-security guard, was attacked and hit over the head several times.
He managed to beat them off with a golf club, which happened to be close to hand. The raiders eventually ran out of the shop empty-handed.
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Today, store owner Mudassar Naeem, 39, praised the bravery of the worker but voiced his frustration at what he feels is a 'lack of interest' in bringing the offenders who keep on stealing from his shop to justice.
One of the raids took place on Boxing Day. Video footage from the shop's CCTV camera shows a man running out of the shop with £100 worth of drink chased by Mudassar.
The father-of-four said: "The police know who he is and where he lives, but asked me 'is it really worth charging him over just £100 of drink?' I couldn't believe it.
"I run a small business and that £100 is hard-earned money. I wanted justice, but the police just don't seem to care and he's got away with it.
"They have no thoughts on what could be done to prevent this from happening, other than to tell me 'get a security guard', which is something I can't afford to do."
Mudassar said there are high hopes the raiders on Friday can be identified.
"Because there was a fight," he said. "The raiders' blood is on the golf club, so the police will be able to get their DNA. There is also video footage showing their face from the CCTV of a nearby property. When they were in the shop all you could see were their hoods up."
Rochdale commander, Chief Superintendent Nicky Porter, said: "Our enquiries into this investigation are ongoing and, to date, we are aware of four incidents that we don’t believe are linked that has seen us make a total of six arrests so far - including one prosecuted.
"We're committed to ensuring that the victim in this case receives justice and that those responsible face the consequences for their invasive and ruinous actions. We're just as committed to prevent such crime of this nature from reoccurring and we recognise the distress that's caused by any incident like this - especially to the victim in this case.
"Our neighbourhood team in Heywood are aware of the incidents that have taken place at the shop and have already factored this in to their patrol plans to do all they can to prevent it from happening again. Lastly, anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call us about it on 101 or report it online as any details could significantly aid our enquiries."
Read about one previous raid: Police arrest man after 'knife point robbery' at corner shop
How an imitation gun was used in one attack: Man, 19, arrested and 'imitation' gun recovered after store robbery
