Four held after dad beaten to death
A FATHER of three was killed in a brutal beating outside a pizza takeaway .
The 43-year-old victim received serious head injuries when he was attacked by a gang of youths in Old Road, Failsworth, near its junction with Oldham Road just after midnight. The man was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital but died at 3am.
Two police officers arrived at the scene within minutes and arrested four teenagers in the area. Two girls, one aged 14 and the other 15, and two males, aged 15 and 18, all from Failsworth, were today being questioned.
Witnesses claim the attack happened after the victim was asked for a light and refused.
Chief Superintendent Keith Bentley described the incident as a "vicious assault'' and appealed for any witnesses to come forward.
He said: "I have a team of 25 detectives working on this case at the moment who are looking into the detail of who has seen this confrontation with this group of people. How that came to happen is still the subject of the investigation."
He confirmed the underwater search unit was looking in the nearby canal to see if "anything has been disposed of".
The scene of the attack outside Prima Pizza was taped off today.
Charles Hankinson, 62, proprietor of Embassy Cars Ltd, a private hire firm, said: "Our night man saw him getting dragged out and beaten up in the street. They dragged him out of the shop and knocked him to the ground and started kicking him, jumping on his head. All of them were kicking him."
call Oldham CID on 0161 8568951 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
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