DETECTIVES have arrested a wanted man following a violent shop robbery in Leyland.

Following a public appeal, Nathan Nicholas, 23, has been arrested in Preston on suspicion of robbery. Nicholas was also wanted on recall to prison.

Police are still seeking to find Andrew Christopher Tomlinson, 32, who uses the name Chris, being sought by officers in relation to the incident which happened on Tuesday, November 14th at around 7:50pm at a store on Turpin Green Lane.

The shopkeeper suffered cuts to his hands after trying to grab two knives being held by one of the two offenders and was hit over the head with a hammer.

Tomlinson – who has links to Accrington, Leyland, Chorley, Preston and Wigan – is also wanted on recall to prison after failing to return to his registered address in Aigburth, Liverpool last month as per his licence conditions. We have reason to believe he could have travelled to London.

DS Ian Derbyshire from Chorley CID said: “This was an extremely traumatic incident for the shopkeeper with offenders who were clearly prepared to use violence and weapons.

“I’d like to thank the public for their help so far with this appeal. This is a significant arrest, but we still need to track down Tomlinson. We believe he could be in the London area.

"If you have seen him, or know where he may be, we would urge you not to approach him and to contact police immediately.

"If Tomlinson himself sees this appeal, he should attend the nearest police station to talk to us before he makes matters worse for himself.”

 “I would also urge anyone who may be assisting him to do the right thing and contact the police. Anyone who helps someone to avoid the police could face serious consequences themselves.”

Tomlinson is described as white, of slim build, around 5ft 9ins tall, with brown eyes and dark brown hair.

Anyone with information should call us on 01257 246190 or if they fail to get an answer, 101, quoting incident reference 1478 of November 14th.

Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.