Ram raid gangs target two stores
POLICE are investigating two separate ram-raids in Stockport where cars ploughed through shop windows with one left in the middle of the sales area.
The first happened at the Co-op, on Dairy-ground Road, Bramhall, in the early hours of Saturday morning targeting a cash machine.
And the second was in nearby Gatley, where a grey Skoda smashed into the front of High Grove Store, on Silverdale Road, on Sunday at 9pm.
It came to rest completely inside the newsagents and thieves stole cigarettes worth between £500 to £1,000 before escaping in a second stolen car.
Bernard Ward, 70, who has owned the shop for 20 years, said: “There is quite a lot of damage and it makes me angry.
“It’s all these sort of people seem to do and they get away with it most of the time. The alarm went off and it came through to my house.
“When I went to have a look I thought, ‘oh my God’, it was quite a shock.
“The car wasn’t even half out of the window it was completely in the middle of the shop floor.”
It is believed the Skoda had reversed into the shop window and the thieves then made their getaway in the direction of Heald Green.
The previous day police and firefighters attended the Co-op to find a Volkswagen Passat buried in the front of the store.
There had been reports of a potential explosion but there was no evidence of this and it is thought the sound was the car hitting the building.
A quantity of cash was stolen but store bosses are still calculating how much.
Nothing was taken from inside the shop.
The Passat was left at the scene with the culprits said to have fled in a second car.
Witnesses have said they saw two men running around outside the shop at the time of the incident but it is currently unclear how many people were involved.
Nearby residents also say the police helicopter could be heard circling above shortly afterwards.
Police have confirmed they are investigating both incidents and appealed for witnesses, no arrests have been made as yet.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
‘The car wasn’t even half out of the window it was completely in the middle of the shop’