Man arrested after police officers attacked with knife in Old Trafford

Their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening

Author: Abi SimpsonPublished 27th Jul 2023

Police in Greater Manchester have arrested a man after two officers were attacked with a knife following a pursuit.

It happened while officers were detaining an 18 year-old on suspicion of dangerous driving on Wood Road at around 4pm on Wednesday.

Police had attempted to stop a moped for driving erratically which was later involved in a collision on the junction of Wood Road and Upper Chorlton Road.

While the two officers were responding, another man is reported to have approached and assaulted them with a knife.

Police say the 26-year-old was “being treated as possibly unconnected to the collision” and a Taser was used during his arrest.

He was taken to hospital before being taken into custody.

Superintendent Cara Charlesworth said: “This was a serious assault on two officers who were simply doing their jobs and trying to keep members of the public safe.

“Thankfully the injuries inflicted on our officers are not believed to be life-threatening or life-changing and I commend them for their bravery in bringing the incident to a swift and safe conclusion without risk to the public. One has required hospital treatment and we wish him a speedy recovery.

“I can assure you that we are treating this incident with due severity and whilst I am pleased we have a man in custody, this investigation is in its early days and we are working hard to understand the full circumstances.”

She urged anyone with any information or footage of the incident to contact police.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.