CHILDREN looked on in horror as a dad was stabbed three times outside the gates of a primary school.

A man in his 30s, named locally as Stephen, nicknamed "Higgy", was picking up his children from North Walkden Primary School when a man jumped out of a car and attacked him, leaving him with stab wounds in his back and chest.

Understood to be a dad-of-five, the man was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary, where his condition is described as stable.

Another parent, who dragged the attacker off the victim, said the man shouted: "I don't care, I'm going to kill him" as people pleaded with him to stop as children watched.

The attack, described as "pure evil" by a governor of the school, happened at 3.30pm this afternoon.

An air ambulance was called after the man went into the school, in Whittle Drive, to ask for help.

Police said a man and woman had become involved in an altercation with the victim, leading to a fight.

They say they are now "actively looking" for the perpetrators.

A source close to the enquiry said: “There has been some kind of disagreement between families from two different areas and that explains what has happened.”

The parent who intervened, who wished to remain anonymous, said he pushed the attacker to a nearby Vauxhall Corsa, which he got in before driving off.

He said: "I said to him, 'what are you doing in front of children?' He said 'I don't care, I will kill him'."


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He then described how he tried to help the victim.

"He got up and he started to walk towards this house," he said. "He did not know where he was.

"I pulled his shirt up and he was covered in blood.

"He'd been stabbed three times, once in the chest and twice in the sides. He was in shock."

Staff who were supervising the children as they left school for the day ran to the victim’s aid and carried him back to the school reception.

The school's chairman of governors, Bernard Pennington, said: “I cannot begin to imagine what would possess someone to carry out such an appalling attack in front of children leaving school.

"It is pure evil.

“It has been a terrifying experience for the children and the staff and a horrendous day for everyone involved."

Det Insp Ben Hart said: "This happened outside a busy primary school as parents were gathered to pick up their children so it would have been a distressing and disturbing thing for people to see.

“I want to reassure them that we are in the early stages of a thorough investigation and we are actively looking for the offenders now."

Anyone with information can call police on 0161 8565360 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.