Guntree: Two held at gunpoint in bogus bike-ad robbery

TWO men were held at gunpoint after responding to a bogus motorcycle ad on the classifieds website Gumtree.

The robbers took £1,800 cash, a van and the victims’ wallets and mobile phones.

The ad was listed on Gumtree last week and removed the night of incident, on Wednesday.

A Wirral man travelled to Stockbridge Village in Liverpool with a friend to collect the fictitious bike.

The father of the 24-year-old victim, who does not want to be named for fear of reprisals, told the Liverpool Echo: “There was an  advert for a cheap motorbike on Gumtree. It looked like a  proper advert. You would never  have thought it wasn’t real.

“He phoned the number and  they told him where to meet.

“He and his mate drove to the location in the van and when they got out they were confronted by two men in  balaclavas.

“One of them had a handgun and the other had a knife.

“They shouted at them ‘Get on the floor, get on the floor.’ They took the cash meant for the bike, £1,800, their wallets and their mobile phones.

“They took the keys to the van and drove off.

“My son’s  shaken up by it. I am sleeping at his house at the moment  because he is afraid of repercussions.

“I want to speak out because I think it needs highlighting. How many other people have they targeted?

“The police told me that a  similar thing happened where someone was lured and attacked with baseball bats.

“People need to be careful.”

A police spokesman said: “Officers were called at about 10.20pm to Cremorne Hey to a report two men had been  subjected to an armed robbery and their vehicle, a white LDV Maxus panel van, had been stolen along with their phones and cash by two men armed with a knife and what was believed to be a handgun.

“An investigation into the full circumstances of the incident is ongoing.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Merseyside Police on 0151  777 6562 or Crimestoppers on  0800 555 111.