A DOOR-to-door salesman on a bike who stopped to give directions to a motorist, was robbed by passengers in the car!

The 31-year-old victim had just finished delivering ordered items in Alder Street, Newton-le-Willows, and was cycling up Park Road South when a blue Ford Sierra hatchback pulled up. The front seat passenger in the car asked for directions to Warrington and then suddenly snatched a bag of household goods - worth about £180 - from the handlebars of the bike. The back seat passenger grabbed a money bag, containing about £35, from the man's waist, before getting back in the car which was driven off towards Wargrave Road.

As the car drove off, the salesman was knocked off his bike to the floor and suffered grazing to his knuckles and elbows.

The front seat passenger was white, in his late 30s with thin, drawn features and a tattoo of a bird on each side of his neck. He had cropped hair and was wearing a blue denim shirt. The back seat passenger who stole the money bag was white and in his late teens. The victim also managed to get the first part of the registration of the Sierra which was D24.

Anyone able to help the police with their inquiries can contact DC Mark Horton at St Helens police station on 0151 777 6064, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.