Machete-wielding burglars stole the a woman’s life savings which was being kept for her vulnerable son during a terrifying robbery in Wigan.
The incident happened on Beacon Road in the Bickershaw area at around 11.20pm on Tuesday (December 21).
Three men armed with pepper spray and a machete entered a home and demanded the victim - a woman in her 60s - hand over cash from a safe.
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The safe contained at least £50,000 which had been saved to support her vulnerable son in the future.
The victim had collected the money for when she would be no longer able to care for him herself.
Following the robbery, the men fled on foot towards Bickershaw Lane.
There were no injuries and enquiries are ongoing. No arrests have been made, a spokesman for GMP said.
Detective Inspector Patrick Wood, of GMP Wigan CID, said: "We believe this to be a targeted incident and are appealing to the public to find those responsible.
"A small safe with at least £50,000 in cash is believed to have been stolen from the property - these were the victim's life savings which had been painstakingly saved over a long period of time and were in place to support her vulnerable son in the future when the victim was unable to care for him herself.
"Right now, there are three men in your community who have committed the despicable crime of stealing the life savings from a woman, which has seriously impacted the future of her vulnerable son, and I expect this will disgust you as much as it has the police.
"If you know who these offenders are - I would suggest somebody will do, as this is a significant amount of money stolen and difficult to keep quiet - I strongly urge you to do the right thing for the family and contact us and report them for this awful crime."
Anyone with information - including CCTV or dashcam footage from the area at the time of the incident - and anyone who finds a discarded safe, is asked to report it online or by using the LiveChat service at www.gmp.police.uk quoting log 3261 of 21/12/2021.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
