Boy, 5, victim in UK tanning salon terror raid

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Boy, 5, victim in salon terror raid
By Joanne Rowe

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A boy, aged five, had a knife held to his throat during an armed robbery at a beauty salon.

The terrified lad burst into tears as the masked raiders demanded cash and turned on his mother.

But a brave beauty therapist, Carmel Gough, grabbed the boy from the grips of the robber and locked him in a back room for safety.

do_dp_ad();AdJug_AID = 197;AdJug_DefaultAdSpaceID = 10276;AdJug_Height = 250;AdJug_Width = 300;When she returned to the front of the Brown Cow tanning salon, the robbers had fled and she found the boy's mum, aged 39, unconscious on the floor.

Miss Gough, aged 19, said: "I just acted on instinct."
The masked men struck at the salon in Halliwell Road, Halliwell, at 7pm on Friday.

They stood either side of the boy and one of them held the knife to his throat.

Miss Gough was tidying up when she heard shouting and came out of a back room to find the robbers, with their heads covered by balaclavas, threatening the little boy's mum, with the sobbing child clinging to her leg.

Despite the danger, Ms Gough was determined to get the child to safety and rushed forward.

"I just picked him up and put him in one of the back rooms and shut the door," she said. "He was crying and I told him it would be OK. I told him to stay in the room and I'd be back quickly."
When Miss Gough went back into the salon to try and help the boy's mum, a businesswoman, she found her slumped on the floor.

The robbers had punched the woman in the face and fled with her handbag, containing travellers cheques, 1,000 US dollars and £300 for a holiday.

An ambulance was called and Miss Gough, a former Thornleigh School pupil, who lives in Smithills, put the woman in the first-aid recovery position.

"She kept slipping in and out of consciousness," said Miss Gough.
A relative collected the little boy, who was shocked but unharmed by the incident, and his mum was later released from hospital after treatment.

Miss Gough's bravery earned her the praise of her boss, Malika Jennings.

She said: " Carmel was so brave. I am not sure I would have done what she did. I would have probably hidden."

Police have appealed for any witnesses who saw the two men - who were both white and aged in their mid-20s - to get in touch. It is thought they went into Berengers hair salon shortly before.

Det Con Steve Slater, of Bolton CID, said: "The woman and her son were extremely traumatised and we would ask anyone who has any information about this attack to call us."

The CID robbery unit can be contacted on 0161 856 5645 or Crimestoppers can be phoned anonymously on 0800 555111.

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