Criminals urged to shop Wollerton machete attack gang
Police today called on the criminal community to give up an armed gang which tied up a pregnant mother while they ransacked her home in front of her young son.
Police today called on the criminal community to give up an armed gang which tied up a pregnant mother while they ransacked her home in front of her young son.
Police hunting the 'cowardly' raiders believe the level of violence used against such a vulnerable victim could move other criminals to come forward.
Three men armed with a machete and truncheon burst into the home of Victoria Ratheram in Wollerton, near Market Drayton, shortly before 9am on Thursday.
They tied the 28-year-old, who is eight months pregnant, to a chair in front of her three-year-old son.
A teenage boy needed corrective surgery to his hand after trying to protect his mother when the gang stuck at a neighbouring home.
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Edwards, head of Shropshire CID, said: "This was a violent and terrifying experience for the victims at the two homes. Fortunately, no-one was seriously injured but they were subjected to a horrifying ordeal.
"I am appealing for any information which might help us trace these men before they strike again.
"They confronted vulnerable people in their own homes and the sooner they are arrested the better. They resorted to violence in what were cowardly crimes.
"I am also appealing to members of the criminal fraternity to help as I believe they will not condone this kind of violence against women and children."
The offenders are described as white and around 5ft 10ins tall. Two are thought to be about 40-years-old and the third in his mid to late 20s.
Police said the younger man was wearing a black woollen knitted beanie-type hat pulled down over his eyebrows.
Police believe the men drove off in a silver coloured saloon car parked in a nearby lay-by and have appealed for sightings.
By Dani Wozencroft
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