DETECTIVES investigating a robbery at a Prestwich service station, in which a teenage cashier was attacked with an axe, are keen to speak to a motorist who was captured on CCTV filling his car with petrol.

The man is described as being in his 40s, white, and in a red four-door saloon car, similar to a Vauxhall Cavalier or a Renault.

He had just paid for petrol at the Hilton Park Petrol Station in Bury New Road before armed robbers struck. Cashier Mabeel Khan (19) suffered a deep axe wound to his leg and a broken arm when he was attacked at 9.45pm on November 7.

A white Subaru car drove on to the forecourt and four men, wearing dark clothing and balaclavas, got out, leaving the driver behind, and ran into the shop with an axe and a gun.

One man waited by the door while the other three used the gun to threaten Mr Khan, a student at Bury College.

They demanded he open the safe and when the teenager said he couldn't, one offender jumped on to the counter and threatened him with the axe, before striking him at least twice.

The offenders then escaped with less than £100 from the till.

Mr Khan, of Cheetham, was taken to North Manchester General Hospital for treatment. He has since made a full recovery.

Detective Sergeant Dave Thorpe, of Whitefield CID, is leading the hunt for the armed raiders.

He said: "Our inquiries have identified a man who was on the forecourt of the service station at the time of this brutal and violent robbery.

"It is imperative that this man comes forward as he may have vital information. He may have seen the offenders nearby before they carried out the robbery."

If you were the driver, or used the Hilton Park service station at 9.45pm on Thursday, November 7, contact DS Thorpe on 856 8248 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.