A loud screech and sirens were heard by neighbours after a seriously injured man walked into a Nottingham garage. A man in his 20s entered the Esso garage shop in Nuthall Road, Whitemoor in Nottingham, at 5.45am on Sunday, April 2, after suffering significant injuries during an assault.
The victim was taken to hospital but his injuries are not thought to be life threatening. Ashana Sanganayake, 29, who works in the garage, was not on shift at the time but expressed his hope that the victim's condition would improve after the shocking incident.
"I hope he gets back to good health," he said.
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"I was not here at the time so I have no idea what happened. All I know is he came in very early in the morning at around 5am."
Most businesses were closed at the time of the incident, with the exception of the garage, which is open 24/7. Most residents on Nuthall Road said they had not been woken by the arrival of the emergency services, with them being used to noise on the busy route.
Michelle Scadden, 56, a caterer who lives across the road, was relieved the assault victim had been able to get help after entering the garage. "I was up at about half past seven and all I could see was the police tape," Ms Scadden said.
"It is a noisy road anyway so I wasn't woken up by it. I thought it was a robbery or something at first.
"I knew it was serious when I saw the cordon being set up. It could have been much worse for the person hurt if the garage wasn't open, hopefully he will recover."
A neighbour, who only wanted to be named as Charlene, said she was concerned about the safety of garage workers after the incident. "I do think there should be more staff there at that sort of time, I do hear fighting and swearing over there at night sometimes," she said.
"I heard a car screech away from that direction [near the garage] and then the sirens started seconds after. They usually shoot past but I could see the sirens reflecting off my wall when they stopped, then I saw a police officer walking up the road with his flashlight."
Nottinghamshire Police has issued an appeal regarding the incident, asking motorists who might have captured dash-cam footage to get in touch. Detective Sergeant James Hirst, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was a violent assault that left a young man in hospital. We are currently investigating what happened in the moments before, during and after this incident and urge any potential witnesses to come forward.
“Even at this time of the morning on a Sunday, this is a busy road and we believe there may be motorists with dash-cam footage which could help with our investigation. There will be a large police presence in the area today [Sunday, April 2] while we carry out inquiries but we currently believe this to have been an isolated incident with no wider risk to the public.
“If anyone has concerns, I would encourage them to speak to an officer.” Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting incident 158 of April 2, 2023 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
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