Detectives hunt for masked robber who attacked shopkeeper with meat cleaver

Weapon narrowly missed victim’s face

Detectives hunt for masked robber who attacked shopkeeper with meat cleaver (Met Police)

Detectives are searching for a robber who terrorised a shopkeeper with a meat cleaver in east London.

The masked man entered the newsagent in Forest Gate just after 2pm on 1 July.

He threatened the shopkeeper with the cleaver for the sake of £40 in the till.

Before leaving, the attacker swung the weapon towards the victim’s face but narrowly missed.

The Metropolitan Police has released a CCTV photo of the man as detectives have launched an appeal.

The man is of a large build and has a circular shaped tattoo on the inside of his right forearm.

Anyone who may know the man’s identity is asked to call police via 101 quoting reference CAD 2607/03Jul or tweet @MetCC, or Crimestoppers anonymously.

In April this year, a man was arrested after a police officer was slashed with a machete in Forest Gate.

The incident happened while officers were attending reports of an armed man “suffering a mental health crisis” at a property.

About seven hours after the attack, the Metropolitan Police arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder of the police officer.

The man had sustained a knife injury to his neck, which is believed to have been self-inflicted – the Met said, adding that first aid was administered and the man has been taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service.