Mum’s store raids anger

THE mother of a Tesco employee has slammed the company for lack of security at one of its Oldham stores following a second raid in five months.

Kay Pyatt (54), said that her daughter was threatened with an axe by a raider in a balaclava while working in the back office of the Tesco Express store in Lees Road, Clarksfield, at 2.15pm on Tuesday.

The man, who spoke with a local accent, had followed a cash-in-transit guard into the back office and threatened them both with the weapon before making off in a silver Audi with a substantial amount of cash.

Mrs Pyatt, of Radcliffe Road, Moorside, said her daughter was still recovering from a previous incident in January when a knife was held to her colleague’s throat by three raiders while they were locking up at night.

Mrs Pyatt said she fears for her daughter’s life because the store refuses to employ a security guard.

The mother-of-two said: “The last raid left my daughter in a state and she had to take time off work with the stress.

“But the store told her it won’t be getting a security guard, which is terrible.

“There is a security guard at the Tesco Express in Shaw, I can’t believe they won’t get one at her store.

“Tesco needs to get its act together before something worse happens. My daughter’s life is at risk as are members of the public.”

A spokesman for Tesco said: “The safety of our staff and customers is of utmost importance.

“We always keep our security measures under review.

“We will review our security procedures accordingly following this incident.”

The raider is described as being white, 6ft tall and of slim build, wearing a grey hooded top with three lighter grey stripes on the outside of each arm, black pants and black gloves.

Police are now appealing for witnesses.

Det Sgt Jason Byrne, from Oldham CID, said: “Both the staff member and security guard were afraid what this man may have done and he was clearly determined to get what he wanted.”

Anyone with information should phone police on 0161-856 8951 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.