Heroic van man left in agony

EMERGENCY vehicles at the scene of the incident in Ripponden Road. Picture by reader Councillor Alan Roughley

An heroic workman suffered horrific injuries when he was run down by a thief who had just stolen his own van.

The 50 year old jumped on the front of the vehicle and was thrown to the ground - and the back wheels of the Ford Transit ran over his right leg, shattering it in two places.

The Ripponden Road, Denshaw incident stunned residents and resulted in the closure of the busy road.

The drama unfolded near the former Black Horse pub, which is being converted into houses.

Today, as police appealed for witnesses, the injured man was feted for his bravery. Geoff Haigh, owner of the landmark Rams Head a mile away, who was nearby when the incident happened.

He said: “The road was thronged with emergency services. The man was incredibly brave to do what he did — it took real guts.”

The workman was taken to hospital and treated for the double break. He remains in a stable condition.

Police said the road maintenance worker was putting signs in the back of the van when the offender got into the cab and started to drive off.

Det Cons Leigh Carnally, based at Oldham, said: “He was fortunate not to be killed. Clearly the thief was so desperate to steal the van he was determined to harm whoever got in his way.”

Police are urging anyone who has seen the white Gallagher works van, YT62 AVL, to contact them.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on: 0161-856 6386 or Crimestoppers on: 0800 555 111.