A SECURITY guard was attacked with a crowbar and robbed after stopping at a petrol station in Haydock.

The victim had pulled his Securicor van into the Shell station on the Manchester-bound carriageway of the East Lancs Road near Haydock Lane at about 12.10pm on Thursday, November 25.

When he came out of the shop with a cashbox, he was approached by a masked man carrying what appeared to be a two-foot iron crowbar.

The man threatened him and demanded he hand over the box but the guard refused and held it up to his face to protect himself as the man started hitting him with the crowbar.

Eventually, the guard was forced to drop the box after being struck on the arm and the robber picked up the box, believed to contain a substantial sum of money, and ran to a waiting silver-coloured Ford Orion with a spoiler on the back which then sped off.

The car was later found abandoned nearby in Kilbuck Lane on the Haydock Industrial Estate.

The attacker's face was covered with a balaclava but he was about 5ft 10ins tall with an average build and wore a jacket.

Police believe a number of witnesses may have been at the petrol station and anyone with information is asked to contact DC Martin Reeves at St Helens CID on 0151 777 6064 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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