A VICTIM relived the moment he feared for his life at the hands of a knifeman after being held up for a second time.

Andy Seward, 30, was stabbed in the elbow and had a flick knife run across his throat as part of a menacing threat after witnessing a burglary.

And the full terror of the incident came flooding back when he was robbed at knifepoint on the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool canal at 7am yesterday.

The latest incident occurred as Mr Seward, of Burton Street, Rishton, cycled to work at Northwest Coach Builders, Daisyfield Industrial Estate, Blackburn, a journey he has undertaken for the past three months.

As he headed along the canal path between Whitebirk Road and Davies Road, close to the Burnley Road roundabout, two hooded youths forced him to the ground and made off with his silver and grey mountain bike.

They also took his Motorola G3 mobile phone and his rucksack.

And Mr Seward said the terrifying ordeal had left him badly shaken.

He said: "I was heading down the path near to the old B&Q and I saw these two lads walking towards me and they initially stepped aside as if to let me past.

"As I got near to them one pushed me off and pulled a Stanley-type knife on me.

"I was so scared because it has happened to me before and that's all I could think of."

The first incident occurred while Andy was living at the former Queen's Park flats in Blackburn, on Christmas Day 1998.

He said: "The intruder stuck a flick knife in to my elbow and then ran it across my throat after I saw him leave a neighbouring flat.

"That's why this time I just let them take everything, I didn't want to get hurt again."

Mr Seward required stitches in his arm following the 1998 attack but no one was ever prosecuted.

He said the theft of his bike had made him reluctant to use the canal path again but he did manage to get a good look at the two hoodies who subjected him to the ordeal.

The first man was described as being in his 20s and 5ft 9in tall, he was wearing a blue hooded top, with beige jogging bottoms and blue boot-style trainers.

The second man was 5ft 5in to 5ft 6in tall, also in his 20s and wearing a blue hooded top and blue and white tracksuit trousers. The pair fled towards Rishton.

Mr Seward said they both had Scottish accents.

Inspector Graham Ashcroft, of Blackburn police, said: "This is a serious and violent offence and we are keen to arrest these two men as quickly as possible."

Witnesses to the robbery are asked to call police on 01254 51212.