Blackburn 'murder bid' police offer £5,000 reward
3:00pm Friday 1st March 2013 in News
By Vanessa Cornall, Crime reporter
Investigations at the scene of the attack
A REWARD of up to £5,000 is being offered for information after a 41-year-old man was left in a critical condition after being attacked in his home.
Crimestoppers have pledged the money to help detectives investigating the attempted murder in Coleridge Street, Blackburn on Sunday.
Yesterday, police also executed eight warrants at several addresses in the town and seven men, aged 42, 27, 28, 30, 40, 28, 27 and a 17-year-old boy, were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and are in police custody.
The victim was found with multiple fractures to the skull and a bleed on the brain at 1am by police responding to reports that three men had broken into his house.
The victim, who remains in an induced coma, was last night still described as being in a ‘critical’ condition.
Det Supt Paul Withers, of the force major investigation team, said: “This was a very vicious and brutal attack which has left the 41-year-old man fighting for his life.
“Three men were seen at the premises but it is possible that not all the men were involved in the assault and therefore could be key witnesses.
“I would appeal directly to these people to come forward or anybody that witnessed this assault.
“A reward of up to £5,000 is available to anyone providing new information.
“We have secured hours of CCTV coverage from nearby streets, carried out extensive house to house enquires and spoken with local taxi firms but we still need the public’s help and would urge people to come forward.”
Detectives believe that three men ran from the address in the direction of Stansfield Street. The first man is described as white, 25 and 30-years-old and of a medium or athletic build.
He had short brown hair, which was longer on top and spoke with a local accent.
The second and third men are described as being white, around 6ft and of a strong or heavy build with short dark hair and a local accent.
The victim has now been moved from the Royal Blackburn Hospital to the Royal Preston Hospital for specialist care.
Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers, who will only pay for information that leads to a conviction, on 0800 555 111.
