Robbers carjack Manchester council leader

LONDON (Reuters) - The leader of Manchester City Council was taken to hospital with a head injury after thieves attacked him and stole his car during a roadside struggle, police said on Tuesday.

Two robbers wrestled with Sir Richard Leese and grabbed the keys to his Mini Cooper before driving off in the Burnage area, south of the city centre.

"It was a very unpleasant experience which left me very shaken and with minor injuries," he said in a statement. "I hope that the perpetrators are caught so that no one else becomes a victim and suffers this kind of assault."

Police said the car, which costs about 14,000 pounds new, was found in Moston, north Manchester, more than a week after the attack.

Detective Constable Andrew Langlands, of Greater Manchester Police, said the robbers are thought to have followed the council leader in a black car before the attack on January 2.

"This was a nasty and unprovoked attack on a man simply going about his day," he said. "If anyone was in the area at the time or saw the car after the attack, please get in touch."

Manchester was among 10 "hotspots" in England and Wales that received extra government money last year to tackle gangs and violent crime. Police say crime is falling in a city once dubbed "Gunchester" by newspapers.

(Reporting by Peter Griffiths; Editing by Steve Addison)