A SECURITY OFFICER was threatened with a syringe as he tried to stop a man running off with a stand packed with designer sunglasses.

The 30-year-old bodybuilder was on his way to work when he tackled him on Brown Street in the city centre yesterday morning.

Police are now hunting the burglar who was escaping with about £4,000 worth of sunglasses from an opticians on Cross Street when Paul Leadbeater stepped in. The man ran off after the struggle and Mr Leadbeater, from Ashton, was left with bruises.

Said Mr Leadbeater, who works at Halliwells solicitors in King Street: "He had a black bin bag pulled over the stand but he just didn't look right.

Defensive

"I asked him what he was doing and he became very defensive and eventually started running away. I grabbed him but in the end I had to let him go and call the police.

"The sunglasses have obviously come from a very expensive shop and now the police will just have to find the rightful owners."

The man is white, 6ft tall, 28-30-years-old and of slim build. He was wearing a navy blue hooded top, blue jeans and had a horizontal scar on his cheek.

Anyone with any further information on this incident is asked to contact police at Bootle Street on 0161 872 5050 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.