A TOBACCONIST was punched and kicked to the floor in a £25,000 robbery in Radcliffe.
The 54-year-old was attacked when four masked men entered the Pipe Bowl wholesale tobacco shop in Church Street West at 3.30pm on Wednesday (Feb 21).
The cash was grabbed from a safe at the rear of the building together with a small quantity of cigarettes.
The raiders ran from the shop and drove off in a bronze-coloured estate car.
The shopkeeper suffered bruising and swelling to his head and chest but he declined hospital treatment.
Police have now launched an appeal for witnesses.
Detective Sergeant Duncan Heywood of Bury's Operational Police Unit said: "This was a very violent robbery which was carried out at speed in broad daylight.
"Church Street West is a busy shopping street and we are very keen to speak to anyone who saw four men acting strangely before the 3.30pm raid or who saw them run from the shop."
Witnesses should call Whitefield CID on 856 8248 if they have any information about the robbery.
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