THE victim of a horrific face slashing has told how his cries for help were ignored by neighbours.

Sean Brazendale (30) needed more than 100 stitches after he was attacked with a craft knife by a fleeing burglars in Ainsworth on Thursday evening (Nov 16). Bleeding heavily he knocked on doors pleading for help.

Speaking this week and pictured with his injuries, he said: "I was panicking, I just thought I'm going to bleed to death. When I knocked on the window of a house, I asked a woman if she would ring an ambulance, but I was told to go away."

Mr Brazendale, who lives in Bury, added: "You just lose your faith in people."

Eventually a passer-by stopped to help him.

The HGV driver might now need plastic surgery on his face which was slit from the back of his head to the lip.

Detective Constable Chris Jameson, who is leading the investigation, said: "The injuries this man sustained are probably the most horrific I have ever seen. It is fair to say that if he had he been slashed a centimetre or two lower we could quite possibly have been looking at a murder investigation." The drama unfolded on Thursday teatime when an 82-year-old woman was approached by burglars at her house in Church Street.

The pensioner, Mrs Marion Chambers, answered her door to a bogus caller. He told her there were people in her back garden and seconds later she was confronted by two men who ran downstairs brushing her aside and fled out of the front door. They are believed to have stolen around £400 in cash and personal possessions.

As the three ran off across the road one of them lashed out at Mr Brazendale with a knife, as he walked home from the shops.

He was rushed to Blackburn Royal Infirmary, which specialises in treating severe facial injuries.

Mr Brazendale, who was discharged on Saturday afternoon, (Nov 18) said: "The doctor told me I was very lucky the knife had missed vital arteries.

"I can't believe it has happened. Things like this don't happen in Ainsworth village. I keep thinking that had I been a few minutes earlier or later I would have escaped. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.

He added: "Something like this does shake you up. It is going to take a long time to get over. At the weekend I was walking and I kept looking over my shoulder. My friends and family have been brilliant."

Police have issued descriptions of the men. Mr Brazendale's attacker is described as being aged between 17 and 25 and 5ft 10ins, of a medium build with short dark hair and an unshaven appearance. The second man was aged between 17 and 20 and around 6ft. He had a thin build and a long thin face with thick dark hair. He was wearing a dark fleece and jeans. The third was between 17 and 20 of medium build and around 5ft 6ins. They were seen driving away in a grey Peugeot 309 or 405 saloon. The registration contained the letters J or K and the numbers 565, but detectives are unsure in which order the figures fall.

DC Jameson added: "We need people to come forward who can tie-in these men with the car. They can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or 0161 856 8248."