A QUICK-THINKING motorist escaped a gang of masked raiders when he drove off at speed.

The 48-year-old man was sat in his car with his wife in Browns Road, Radcliffe, at 7.30pm on Tuesday (April 3) when three men approached the vehicle after getting out of a black Rover 214.

According to police, the driver was threatened and the gang attempted to drag him from his car in a bid to steal the vehicle.

Detective Sergeant Duncan Heywood of Bury's Operational Police Unit said: "The driver put his foot down and drove off. The offenders didn't follow."

Detectives in Whitefield are now appealing for witnesses to the attempted theft.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact Whitefield CID on 856 8248.