THE son of an MP fought off three men armed with a hammer as they tried to steal his car in broad daylight.

Jason Crausby, the area co-ordinator for the Bury East Area Board, was attacked as he went to unlock his VW Golf in a car park off Knowsley Street, Bury, on Monday afternoon (May 13).

Mr Crausby, the son of former Bury councillor David Crausby who is now MP for Bolton North East, had just left Bury Town Hall at 4pm when he was attacked.

Speaking to the Bury Times, Mr Crausby (35) told how, as he approached his car a VW Polo pulled up behind him.

He said: "I was struggling to put the key in the lock. A car pulled up behind me and a lad jumped out and took a swing at me. I saw it coming and ducked out of the way and was then pushed to the ground.

"When I got up he had his hands on the keys and was trying to get in the car. I leapt at him and pushed him off and another lad came at me from behind. He pulled a hammer from his coat and was waving it at me. I went for him." A third man remained in the car.

Mr Crausby, who lives in Bury, continued: "I realised that they were trying to get the car. I had initially thought the attack was a case of mistaken identity."

The council worker managed to grab hold of his keys and was struck in the middle of his back with the hammer before he managed to run towards a group of people. "Amazingly, the lad with the hammer continued to chase me and the other two tried to run me over with the car. When they realised their attempts were fruitless they gave up."

Mr Crausby was shaken by his ordeal.

"My wife is due to give birth to our first child in July. She said later that I should have just given the keys to the thieves, but it didn't immediately click with me that that was what they were after."

Bury CID has appealed for anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them on 856-8150.

Police say the man wielding the hammer was white, 6ft tall, in his early 20s and of medium build. He was wearing a blue or grey tracksuit top and a dark baseball cap.

The second offender was also white, 5ft 10ins tall, in his early 20s and of slim to medium build. He wore a blue cap with white lines, and a fawn top.