"They were both swinging knives around": Police investigate machete attack in car park of Ashton Aldi

Police are investigating an alleged stabbing which occurred at Aldi in Ashton-under-Lyne earlier today after a row between two men.

It's understood the incident took place in the car park at around 2:10pm and an 18-year-old male has been taken to hospital with serious injuries, but they are not believed to be life threatening.

One bystander said: "We parked just next to the police car and saw a small crowd of around 10 gathered. The police officer had a large - I would say a foot long blade - machete knife.

"I was shocked and thought how naive I must be as I just imagined stabbings were kitchen knife type incidents. Another man then picked up a soft cover for the knife that had been dropped and handed it to the police officer.

"The officer spoke to witnesses and I asked one if anyone had been hurt. She told me it was two young men who were arguing. One was on a bike and the other on foot.

"They were both swinging knives around whilst arguing. Both masked. The lady saw one being stabbed in the arm but she couldn’t see how far the knife had gone in because he was wearing a puffer coat.

"One ran away and the other chased in the direction of Lilly’s Indian restaurant/the bus station. People had phone footage and were giving it to the police."

Another witness said she saw an attendant in the bus station "mopping up a lot of blood".

"We saw a police car first driving around the bus station, as we got inside I noticed a trail of blood leading up to the ticket desk where there was a large pool of blood and lots more blood at the top entrance of the bus station," she said.

"As we crossed over at the lights there were a further four police cars circling the area."

A GMP spokesperson said police received reports that a male had been stabbed on Dean Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, however four police scenes are currently in place - including one in the Limeside area of Oldham - while an investigation takes place.

No arrests have been made at this time.