Charlie Middleton had just left home to walk his dog when he noticed a man approaching him in Ashton-under-Lyne. He was suddenly punched and knocked to the floor
A man who was punched in the face by a stranger in the street has been told either the CCTV cameras covering the area are fake, or the footage is bad quality.
Charlie Middleton had just left home on the evening of February 18 to walk his dog when he noticed a man approaching him in Ashton-under-Lyne. The 26-year-old PhD student said: “I thought he was going to walk past like everyone else. I got my phone out to text my friend and suddenly I felt a punch in the face and I was knocked to the floor.
“There was so much blood. At the time I felt like I was going to not survive, especially when I hit the ground. I was screaming. Eventually I managed to get up and the guy had ran off. It happened so fast, it was petrifying.” Charlie, who suffered a black eye and damaged nose, added: “It was just horrific. I didn’t realise anyone could do such a thing. I didn’t even know who this guy was. It’s just awful.”
Police visited him the next day. Charlie said they asked for CCTV from his block of flats. “I was told the majority of the cameras in the area were either just not good enough – they couldn’t pick up his face – or they were dummy cameras, which are no use to anybody. They said that as they couldn’t catch his face in videos, they can’t do anything but wait for more reports to come to them. They said they had to close the case.”
The student, who is studying oncology with cardiology at The Salford of University, has lived in Ashton for around three years. He told the Manchester Evening News: “I’ve never had problems here beforehand, but now I just don’t like living in the area,” he said. “I’m scared to walk at night time and I get paranoid whenever anyone comes near me. I’m worried as well that he’s still out there.”
A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: “We have carried out extensive CCTV enquiries into this incident, both in the moments leading up to the assault and following the assault. Our investigations have covered the surrounding vicinity, but unfortunately, no footage captured the assault itself or the offender. During our investigations into this assault and a previously reported assault in the same area, we reached out to the local council CCTV operators.
“The area which the assaults took place was not covered by council CCTV, as a result no offender was identified for either offence. Due to the offender not being identified, the investigation into this incident has been closed pending any new information coming to light. We have been in contact with the victim and have provided them an update in relation to the progression of the investigation.”
