Ice-cream man attacked with machete

His teenage attackers went loop the loop on him but escaped with less then 99 pounds in coins.



The man, 54, was selling ice cream to a child on Lodge Street in Monsall at about 20:00 GMT on Sunday evening when four teenagers approached him and demanded cash, police said.

The attackers tried to pull him out of the van and in the struggle he was cut by the machete on the back of his head.

The teenagers made off with about £20 in 20p pieces from plastic cups.

The machete was believed to be about 15in (38cm) long.
'Desperate and cowardly'

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said the teenager carrying the machete was white, between 16 and 18 years old, about 5ft 10in (1.7m) tall wearing a plain grey hooded top and material pulled up over the lower part of his face.

A second teenager, also in his late teens, is described as white, about 5ft 10in (1.7m) tall and of a stocky build wearing a plain grey-hooded top with cords.

The other two teenagers were both wearing dark-coloured hooded jackets with the hoods pulled up.

Det Con Amanda Hardey said: "For all the effort and violence these four teenagers displayed, they escaped with a measly amount of cash.

"No-one, certainly not an ice-cream man, should be subjected to such violence when simply trying to earn a living.

"The fact that a young child had just been served shows how desperate, cowardly and without a conscience these teenagers were and it is more by chance than design no-one was injured with such a dangerous blade being waved about."