Woman beaten up by machete-wielding man who then stole her car

The victim was punched and kicked before her car was stolen and crashed in Leigh.

Published 17th May 2017

A woman's been attacked by a man with a machete - who then stole her car - in Leigh.

She was sat in her Mitsubishi Lancer on Bradshaw Gate when a car ran into the back of her. The driver of the dark grey Volvo estate then pulled up alongside her and signaled for her to follow him down a side street.

The woman believed she was travelling to a safe place to stop and swap details but, as the car came to a stop on Etherstone Street, and the woman got out of her car, she was met by a man carrying a machete and wearing a balaclava.

He punched her and kicked her to the ground before taking her keys and getting into her car with another man, a passenger from the Volvo. They drove along St Helens Road before crashing the vehicle a short time later on Newton Road, Lowton.

Both men fled the scene towards a housing estate and onto Moss Industrial Estate near to St Helens Road.

The woman suffered cuts to her head, bruising to her knees and elbows and swelling to her face.

Detective Constable Andrew Partington of GMP’s Wigan Borough, said: “This is a frightful and deceitful incident with a man brandishing a machete in broad daylight.

“We need witnesses to come forward to find the heartless criminals who took advantage of a woman’s vulnerability and attacked her in the street.

“If you are the woman who spoke directly to the driver of the Volvo, please get in touch with us, we believe you could help us identify those responsible.”

Officers are appealing for witnesses to the incident and are particularly interested in speaking to a woman who witnessed the initial collision.