Neighbours stunned by street stabbing

Scene of stabbing in Incline Road, Hollins

AN eight-inch carving knife was thrown into the porch of a Hollinwood home moments after a 29-year-old man was stabbed on Saturday evening.

Neighbours in Incline Road said they heard a disturbance on the street at 7.30pm and saw a scuffle involving four men, believed to be in their late twenties.

Seconds later, a blade was thrown into the porch of a house by one of the men who told the shocked resident to ‘Call the police, he’s been stabbed’.

The neighbour, who did not want to be identified, said: “I was sitting in the front room with a friend when four lads came down the street and started fighting.

“We looked out and saw they were jumping on the head of one of the men, it was nasty.

“We didn’t realise anyone had been stabbed.

“Then one of the guys threw the knife in my porch and said ‘Phone the police, he’s been stabbed’.

“They then threw the injured man in a car and drove off.”

Clean

Leaving the knife untouched, the resident immediately called the police who cordoned off half of the street from its junction with School Road.

The neighbour said: “The knife was clean when they dropped it, the man had been holding it with his T-shirt.

“We didn’t know anyone had been stabbed. We didn’t see any blood until the morning.

“It could have been anything — a fight that went wrong, we just don’t know what happened.

“It seems like a one-off incident that could have happened anywhere.”

Another neighbour said: “The police and ambulance came really quickly.

“Police officers conducted door-to-door enquiries, they stayed on the street until 2.30am on Sunday morning and were back at 9am.

“It’s very reassuring that they were as fast and as thorough as they were.”

The victim, who suffered stab wounds to his body, was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery and remains there in a critical condition.

A 26-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and is currently in police custody.

Forensic scientists searched the area on Saturday night and Sunday morning, and scene-of-crime investigators left four yellow markers on the street where evidence was found.

The street cordon was lifted at about 12.30pm on Sunday.

A neighbour said: “It is normally a quiet street but my children saw the blue lights outside at about 7.45pm on Saturday.

“I knew something bad had happened because the police taped off the street but I only found out in the morning that someone had been stabbed.

“I do feel worried for my children now.”

Inquiries are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call Oldham CID on 0161-856 8951 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800-555 111.