TWO knifemen attacked a man and tried to rob him as he walked home across Winsford Shopping Centre.

The 23-year-old victim was slashed across the face with a knife as he tried to escape.

He was walking near the town's multi-storey car park, between The Drumber and Queensway, at about 1am on Saturday, when he was approached by the robbers.

They demanded money and threatened him with a blade. But when he tackled them instead, they lunged at him with the knife and he suffered a four-inch gash to his right cheek.

This is the third robbery in the area in just a few weeks. And on all three occasions, two robbers have attacked men walking alone at night.

Last Tuesday at 11.30pm thugs assaulted a 20-year-old man in a park behind the old police station, in Winsford, by kicking and punching him after he refused to give them money.

They fled the scene empty-handed.

And in a previous incident on May 9, at 8.45pm, a 29-year-old man needed seven stitches after robbers slashed his face with a sharp blade. Again, the attack happened near the old police station.

But police have refused to confirm that the three incidents are related.

"Obviously they are very similar but we cannot say it is definitely the same men involved in all three cases," said Sgt Simon Price.

"However, there are clearly some men out and about at night who are not afraid to use violence.

"On this occasion the victim was very brave and fought these people off. But when people are in this situation it is very frightening and often, you do not know what is the best thing to do.

"One option is to run away very quickly, another is to hand over the money.

"I would advise people to always put their own safety first and consider carrying a panic alarm. If it's necessary to go out in the early hours of the morning, it's sensible to travel by taxi."

He added: "People leaving pubs and clubs should also be mindful that if they've had a few drinks it may affect their reaction to an attack. Therefore, they should consider their state of sobriety."

DC Dave Stott, of Northwich Police, has revealed that during the incident last Tuesday one of the robbers was heard to shout the nickname Bebbo.

He said: "We think these people are local and so we are appealing for anybody who knows of somebody in the area with this nickname to contact us."

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