Another weekend, another spate of stabbings and four men lie dead.

This weekend one of the victims was Keith Platt, aged 30, who was on a rare night out in Farnworth when he was set upon and stabbed several times.

Just four months ago Rabid Amin, aged 25, died after being knifed more than 12 times in Bradshawgate, Bolton.

The other deaths this weekend were in Manchester and London and it now seems that hardly a week goes by without another life being lost, simply because so many young men are apparently arming themselves with knives before going on a night out.

It not yet clear exactly what led to Mr Platt's death but one thing is certain.

Something has to be done quickly to reclaim our streets from gangs of marauding youths who think they can earn respect by carrying weapons.

The danger, of course, is that at the slightest hint of trouble, some men are showing that they are prepared to use these weapons with fatal consequences.

Until recently such attacks were generally confined to our inner cities and were often gang related.

Frighteningly, it now appears this kind of violence is spilling out into town and city centres, leaving people who simply want to enjoy a night out feeling vulnerable.

Knife amnesties and anti-knife roadshows are not the answer.

In the short term the government needs to take urgent action to make sure the police are properly resourced to be able to effectively deal with violent crime.

And in the long term it needs to honour its promise of being tough on the causes of crime and take a long, hard look at what is happening in our society.

If it fails, our communities face being blighted forever by lawlessness.