Extra patrols after robberies by thugs on mopeds

EXTRA police patrols are to be deployed on the main route between Manchester and Bury after a spate of thefts by thugs on mopeds.

As reported in the M.E.N., thieves on two wheels are snatching phones and bags from people near a Prestwich park.

They have mounted pavements near St Mary’s Park to rob victims. In one case a phone was taken from a 15-year-old girl. The first incident was on June 23 at 9.15pm near the park on Bury New Road. Two youths on a moped mounted the pavement and threatened the victim saying he was armed with a knife. They then stole the victim’s bike.

Both the rider and the pillion passenger on the moped wore black clothing and black crash helmets.

On July 10, there were two incidents. In the first, again on Bury New Road the victim was at a bus stop when two youths rode onto the pavement on an off-road scrambler-type bike and snatched her mobile phone from her hands.

That incident was at 6.30pm and five minutes later in the same location but this time on a red, unregistered moped, they again mounted the walkway and grabbed a phone from a 15-year-old girl. On July 12, two men on a moped snatched a phone from the hands of a man walking on nearby Agecroft Road.

Now police are putting extra patrols in the area around St Mary’s Park, which has entrances on Bury New Road and St Mary’s Road, is well used and has a large play area for younger children, plus tennis and basketball courts.