Did you witness an armed robbery in Wigan?

Police are appealing to the public for information following an armed robbery at a post office on Heath Street in the Golborne area of Wigan on Friday 31 January 2020.

At around 5.25pm three masked men – who were in possession of a shotgun – approached the building and threatened a staff member outside before one of the offenders punched him in the head. The worker did not require further treatment.

The offenders then went into the building and demanded cash.

They then made off with a quantity of cash and fled in a silver Nissan Navara, which was later found abandoned on Pennine Lane in the early hours of Saturday 1 February 2020.

Two of the men are described as white and all three are at least 5ft 8ins tall with one being described as taller than the other two. All are of a stocky build and aged between late 30s and early 40s.

They are said to have been wearing dark clothing and balaclavas and were carrying shotguns, a crowbar and a door enforcer.

No arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing.

Officers now want members of the public to come forward with any information they may have to help this investigation.

Detective Sergeant Sarah Bell, of GMP’s Wigan division, said: “This frightening and shocking ordeal thankfully caused no major harm to the workers at the post office but did leave them understandably shaken by the incident.

“A full investigation is now underway and we are appealing to the public to come forward with any information they have – whether they witnessed the robbery itself or were around Heath Street on the afternoon of Friday 31 January 2020.

“Due to the busy time of day, it is entirely possible that there is dashcam or CCTV footage of the men and the car used from around that time and we urge anyone who was around the Golborne area to check if their footage shows the corresponding men or vehicle described.

“The silver Nissan Navara was reported stolen two weeks prior to this incident and so we are also keen to hear from anyone that may have seen the vehicle – registered as PN54 SXW – in the days leading up to this awful incident.”

Anyone with any information should contact police on 0161 856 3034 quoting incident number 2219 of 31/01/2020. Details can also be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.