Media centre

Monday 31 Oct 2005

£10,000 REWARD TO FIND STATION THUGS

Region & Route:

Network Rail is offering a £10,000 reward for information leading to the successful prosecution of two thugs who callously assaulted a member of staff at Manchester’s Piccadilly station in the early hours of Sunday 23 October. Duty station manager Duncan Law, 32, was patrolling the Fairfield Street entrance to the station when he was approached by two men who had been waiting for a taxi. Mr Law is thought to have told the men that the taxi rank was closed when one of them lashed out in a totally unprovoked attack. The duty manager went down, striking his head on the pavement, and was knocked unconscious. He was rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary where he spent a week while doctors treated two blood clots on his brain. Working with the British Transport Police, who are leading the investigations, Network Rail’s area general manager Jo Kaye immediately offered the reward in an effort to catch the culprits. Ms Kaye said: “Duncan was simply doing his job and nothing can justify the way he was assaulted. “Staff at the hospital have told us that if it was not for the fact that Duncan is young and keeps himself fit, the consequences could have been a lot worse. We must find these individuals before anyone else suffers at their hands.” British Transport Police have photos of the two men taken from the station’s CCTV system. They were also caught on camera in a nearby shop shortly before the attack at the station. Anyone with information is asked to contact the British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. All calls will be treated in the strictest confidence and those to Crimestoppers can be made anonymously if the informant prefers.