Newport shopkeeper victim of daylight attack

Two raiders armed with a bottle attacked a shopkeeper and his wife in broad daylight as they worked in their Newport store.

Surjit, 38, and Nider Rattu, 40, were working at Newport News & Off Licence in School Ground Lane, off Stafford Road, when two men burst in shortly after 10am on Saturday.

Mr Rattu said the pair had been shouting racist abuse and one of them picked up a bottle when he went to phone the police.

Both Mr and Mrs Rattu, who suffers with epilepsy, were hit over the head with the bottle and were taken to hospital for treatment to their injuries.

Police cordoned off part of Stafford Road after the incident.

A 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault and has been bailed until the end of the month.

Mr Rattu said he had gone outside to tell the men to put their rubbish in the bin.

When they became aggressive he tried to take a photo of their car with his mobile phone, he said.

"They started to swear and say racist things," he said.

"I told them I'd call the police if they carried on.

"They carried on so my wife was pressing the emergency button under the counter.

"That's when they came behind the counter and we were hit over the head with a bottle. It broke into small pieces.

"My wife just lay on the floor. I had a 4in cut on my head which had to be glued together."

Father-of-three Mr Rattu, who is originally from India, said it was the first time he had been attacked in his seven years trading in Newport.

He added: "Most people are really friendly. It's like a family here with people coming in and chatting for 15 minutes.

"This is the first time anything like this has happened. It has made me very nervous but I have to carry on working."

Police appealed for any witnesses to come forward.

West Mercia Police Inspector Andrew Smith said: "A number of officers attended and, as a result of inquiries, a man was arrested in connection with the incident. We are not sure at this stage what the motive was."

Call 101, quoting reference number 234S180812.