Armed robbers attack man with axe

Mohammed Younis was attacked with the axe in his bedroom

A man was awoken by a gang of armed robbers and struck in the face with an axe at his house in north Manchester.

Mohammed Younis, 58, was in bed when the men broke in through the kitchen window of his home in Brooklands Road, Crumpsall, early on 6 December.

The shopkeeper was treated for a gash that runs from his forehead, through his eye and down his cheek.

Mr Younis's daughter heard the screams coming from his bedroom and called police before the men made off.

They escaped with two mobile phones and a gold chain.

Greater Manchester Police later found one of the stolen phones in bushes nearby, along with a claw hammer.

These men do not deserve to be walking the streets Det Con John Steward

The raiders also took the keys to Mr Younis's grocery store, which have not been recovered, and his son's car keys - although the vehicle was not taken.

A police spokesman said Mr Younis had also suffered a deep cut to his right jaw line and would need further hospital treatment for his injuries.

After breaking into the house, the masked men went into Mr Younis's 25-year-old daughter's room before then targeting her father.

She said she heard his cries, followed by a man saying, "where's the money?".

She then heard her mother shouting that the men had "killed him".

'Sheer terror'

The 25-year-old son of Mr Younis, his wife and their two young children were in the room next door when he was attacked.

His son later got up and went downstairs where he found his father injured and bleeding badly.

Police are appealing for anyone with information to contact them.

Det Con John Steward said: "The sheer terror that this family must have felt at the hands of these men is hard to imagine.

"Mohammed was woken in the middle of the night and smashed in the face with an axe.

"His wife thought he was dead. These men do not deserve to be walking the streets."

He added: "I urge anyone who knows about this robbery to come and speak to us immediately.

"I'll be surprised if these men haven't bragged about this in some way, and the information you've been given could be crucial to our investigation."