A CAR stolen in a robbery at Tesco superstore Greenfield has been found following a vicious assault on a man at Derker Metrolink stop.
The male, in his 40s, suffered serious head injuries in the attack on Thursday, March 22 at 7.30pm and remains in hospital awaiting surgery.
Greater Manchester Police say the victim had just got into a white Vauxhall Corsa, which was parked in the car park, after arriving on a tram from Manchester.
He was dragged out the car by a group of people who then attacked him with a hammer and drove off in the Corsa, in tandem with two other vehicles.
The other vehicles were a blue Fiat Panda, which was reported stolen following a robbery at Tesco car park on Chew Valley Road on Sunday, March 18, and a Ford Fiesta.
All three vehicles have been recovered by officers on Langham Road, Chadderton and enquiries are ongoing.
Officers want to speak to seven people in connection with the attack who are described as male, Asian, aged between late teens and early 20s, dressed in all black clothing, possibly tracksuits.
On March 8, a 49-year-old man was the subject of an attempted murder at Freehold tram stop, Chadderton.
His attackers – described as Asian males aged 15 to 18 – returned on three occasions to continue the attack.
However, detectives are not treating the Derker incident as linked to any other incidents but are keeping an open mind about the full circumstances.
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Faulkner of GMP’s Oldham Borough, said: “Fortunately, we’ve been able to recover the three vehicles so officers from our forensic teams will be working quickly to gather as much evidence as possible from them but we need any witnesses to contact us urgently.
“As there were a number of cars in the area, I’m sure that someone must have dashcam footage or have seen something that would help us with our investigation.
“I cannot stress the importance of contacting us with information that could prove vital in catching the people that are responsible for leaving a man with severe head injuries so please, make sure you make that call.
“We are putting additional resources into the area over the coming days and I would urge people to speak to those officers about any concerns or with details of anything they have seen.”
Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 8538 quoting reference number 1863 of 22/03/18 or via the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.