Detectives hunt for 12 teenagers, including two girls, after man was stabbed in 'violent' attack

Detectives investigating the "violent" assault have established the youths threw items at the man's car as he drove along Elliott Street in Tyldesley at around 3am on Saturday.

He got out of the vehicle to confront them and one youth ran at him, stabbing him in the chest.

The 27-year-old presented himself at A&E with stab wounds and remains in hospital in a stable but critical condition.

Police were called by medical professionals at around 4.35am on Saturday and launched an investigation.

No arrests have been made yet and they are appealing for information as they continue to look into what happened.

The group was described as consisting of eight to 10 boys, between the ages of 15 and 18, and at least two girls, of a similar age. The youth with the knife was wearing black.

Det Sgt Lee Jamieson, of Greater Manchester Police's Wigan division, said: “This was a violent attack which left the victim with a six-inch chest wound and could have killed him.

“An investigation is under way and we are treating this with the utmost seriousness - we cannot and will not tolerate this abhorrent behaviour in our communities.

“I would like to use this opportunity to appeal to anyone with information about this incident or those responsible to contact us as soon as possible.

“I am particularly interested in hearing from anyone who witnessed or has dash cam footage of a group of youths walking down Elliott Street and jumping into the carriageway or throwing items.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 0161 856 5307. quoting incident 616 of March 7.

Information can also be passed to the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.