Four teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a taxi driver and a delivery driver were assaulted during two violent robberies in Stockport.
The taxi driver was attacked after being asked to pull over by his two passengers in Adswood at around 1.30am on Friday, February 21.
When the car stopped on the corner of Chelford Grove and Handley Close, four men pulled the door open and assaulted the driver.
The 58-year-old managed to reverse away from the men, including the passengers, who then fled on foot with his mobile phone.
He suffered facial injuries but did not require hospital treatment.
A second man, a delivery driver, was viciously attacked and robbed of his car in the same area later that morning at around 3.10am.
He was beaten up after arriving at an address on Appleby Close in Stockport.
He was assaulted by a gang of thugs who stole his dark grey BMW and left him seriously injured on the side of the road.
The hurt driver was discovered by a neighbour at around 5.30am who called for help.
The man is still recovering in hospital in a stable condition after undergoing surgery.
Police are treating both assaults as linked.
Officers managed to track and intercept the stolen BMW a couple of hours later on New Zealand Road in Stockport.
The offenders rammed the police car and then ran away on foot.
Police were then called to some men acting suspiciously on Celtic Street, Offerton at around 9am that same morning.
Two 17-year-old boys were arrested on suspicion of robbery and attempted murder.
Two more boys, aged 16, were arrested today (Sunday) on suspicion of the same offences after forensic analysis was carried out on the recovered BMW.
The arrests for attempted murder relate to the attack on the delivery driver in Appleby Close.
All four suspects remain in police custody for questioning.
Detective Inspector Melanie Johnson, of GMP’s Stockport district, said: “Our officers have worked tirelessly over the weekend to gather as much evidence as possible to find the people responsible for these disgraceful attacks.
“Thankfully both men are expected to make a full recovery but are understandably shaken by what happened.
"They were simply doing their job and no-one should ever be subjected to this kind of attack.
“We currently believe that both of these incidents are linked and whilst we have made four arrests, our investigation is very much ongoing and progressing at pace so I would urge anyone who saw anyone acting suspiciously across the Stockport area in the early hours of Friday morning to get in touch with our investigation team.”
Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 9790 or 101 quoting reference number 445 of 21/02/2020 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
