Shock as police tell businessman he should throw away huge knife found outside his home

Nick Wilkinson said the knife - which has an eight-inch blade - was discovered outside his house on Alder Lane in Parbold on Thursday morning by gardeners.

Other news: Wigan education trade unionists campaign for SATs to be scrappedThere is no pavement and he suspects it could have been thrown from a passing car onto the small grassed embankment next to the gates.

He was particularly concerned as he lives less than a mile from Parbold Hill, where teenager Alex Davies was found dead last month, sparking a murder investigation.

Mr Wilkinson, owner of Goose Green-based vehicle tracking firm Fleetsmart, said: “It looks pretty sinister. It’s not a penknife that someone has dropped. It would have no reason to be outside anyone’s kitchen.”

He was worried the knife could be connected to the murder probe, so his wife Suzanne contacted the police to report the discovery.

Mr Wilkinson, 46, said: “We phoned the police and told them this really shouldn’t be there and they might be interested to try to find out why.

“We were on hold for 20 minutes and they didn’t take my wife’s name, address or anything about it, ask for a picture and didn’t ask for anything.

“They said there was nothing outstanding for anything to do with knives in that area so just wrap it up and put it in a bin. Unreal. I couldn’t believe it.”

Their response was disappointing to Mr Wilkinson, who has three children.

He said: “To me, given that it’s not the most pleasant for someone to have been stabbed less than a mile from your house, to instil a bit of confidence in the local community they should have at least shown some interest, taken some details, maybe they should dispose of it.

“It’s not a thing that should be seen out of the kitchen, with the size of it.”

At the time of speaking to the Observer, Mr Wilkinson had not disposed of the knife as he was not sure of the best way to do it.

The Wigan Observer contacted Lancashire Police about the matter, but was told they could not comment until they had tracked down the phone call reporting the find.

A 17-year-old boy from Chorley has been charged with murder and possession of a bladed object after the body of 18-year-old Alex Davies was found in woodland on Parbold Hill on Wednesday, May 1.

The Skelmersdale teenager died of stab wounds and asphyxiation, police said.