Twenty-two years after a meticulously planned bank robbery in Whitefield, the case remains unsolved. The heist, which involved the kidnapping of a bank manager's family and a daring escape, has never been brought to justice.
The Night of the Kidnapping
On September 21, 2004, at 8pm, two armed men wearing masks, wigs, and false beards arrived at the home of Jonathan Diggle, the manager of the NatWest bank in Whitefield, in Leigh. They held him, his wife Lynne, and their two young daughters hostage. The intruders communicated via walkie-talkie with a third person called "Andy".
The family was held at gunpoint for an hour before the gang forced Mr Diggle to drive them in the family's pale blue Fiat Brava to Schofield Lane in Leigh. They were then ordered into a silver Renault Megane Scenic with false plates P351 BGW and driven for about 30 minutes to a warehouse-style building in an unknown area. The warehouse had a white or concrete roof support with a bar and coat hangers. The family was tied up and hooded while Mr Diggle was interrogated about the bank's security systems.
The Robbery and Escape
The family was kept in the van until 7:30am the next morning. Mr Diggle was then taken to the bank in the family's Fiat, while his wife and children were driven to Ringley Old Brow in Stoneclough, where they were handcuffed with plastic cable ties to a lamppost and abandoned. Mrs Diggle freed herself two hours later and raised the alarm.
At the bank, Mr Diggle was forced to open it with his keys, but the robbers were interrupted when four staff members arrived. They locked the staff in the vault and fled with between £220,000 and £300,000 (equivalent to up to £550,000 today).
Aftermath and Investigation
The Renault Megane was found torched behind the Esso garage on Manchester Road, Kearsley. The vehicle had been reported stolen from Preston the previous July. The family was placed under police guard. Jonathan said: "The whole incident has left us extremely traumatised and we will never forget those fearful moments. We were enjoying a family night in, just like any normal evening, when the men burst in. To say we were terrified is an understatement. I never imagined being a bank manager would put me and my family through such hell. What they did to us will stay with us for a very long time but we are determined they will not ruin our lives."
The NatWest offered a £50,000 reward. A year later, Detective Inspector Simon Collier from Whitefield CID told the MEN: "In the last 12 months we have pieced together all the evidence that we have so far. We are now asking the public for their help so we can catch the men responsible for this terrifying incident. In particular, we are extremely interested in locating the warehouse where the family were kept overnight. The family have described this as much as they can, however we still need to find where this lock-up is. The descriptions given of the offenders are quite detailed and I would encourage anyone who may have seen them or thinks they know them to contact us."
The offenders were described as three white men, two with false beards and short black wigs. They wore suits with shirts and ties. One was aged 30-40, 5ft 6in, slim, with a Manchester/Salford accent. The second was in his early 30s, 5ft 8in, stockier.
Case Closed
Jonathan returned to work at a different branch. The bank closed in March 2015 due to dwindling customer numbers. The police investigation was closed the same year. No one was ever charged. A senior detective said just hours after the robbery: "This was a highly professional raid carried out with military precision."
