A SHOPKEEPER has spoken out after a ranting yob abused his customers and sparked a police hunt.

The incident occurred at about 9pm on Saturday January 24 when a man walked into the Best Saver convenience store in Bury Old Road, Prestwich, with a large German Shepherd dog.

Shopkeeper Mel Drury said he asked the man to take the dog outside and the man replied: "He won't understand you, he only speaks German."

Then the man began accusing people associated with the shop of being involved with a crime that he claimed took place two-and-a-half years ago.

Mr Drury said: “He started calling the owner of the shop — a man he has never met — a criminal and said I must be a criminal too because I work for one.

"Then he started to prevent customers from coming in the shop, telling them that they didn’t want to do business with criminals. He stopped half a dozen of them coming in over an hour.”

Mr Drury called the police, who advised him to call back if the man refused to leave the shop.

Eventually, Mr Drury rang them back.

“The man then grabbed the phone out of my hand and said to the police: ‘Come on then, I’m ready for you’.’

“He also handed a bottle of lemonade and two packets of crisps to an elderly woman who came in and, when she offered to pay, he told her 'this is on the criminals' and gave her the goods for free.”

Before leaving the shop, the man got out his mobile phone and began filming Mr Drury and one of his colleagues, manhandling one to force him to look at the camera.

"He threatened to put the footage on youTube," added Mr Drury.

Police officers arrived and spoke to the man outside the shop, and he fled with his dog.

It was only after viewing CCTV footage of the incident that police realised how alarming the man's behaviour had been.

Mr Drury said: "His behaviour was unpredictable and intimidating. I’ve never seen him around here before.”

PC Charlotte West, of Bury Police, said: "This was an unseemly and deplorable incident whereby several staff members were subjected to a tirade of really awful abuse.

"One staff member was manhandled and other innocent members of the public were left too intimidated to enter the shop as well as being left distressed by this man’s actions.

"I would therefore ask that anyone who thinks they recognise the man in the image gets in touch."

Anyone with information should call police on 101.