A POLICE chief has said the stabbings in Bolton this weekend were "unprecedented and shocking".

Over the last 12 months there have been 114 incidents where a knife was found in someone's possession or when a knife had been used in Bolton.

The statistic, say police, equates to 0.3 per cent of overall crime in the town.

But Supt Dave Flitcroft is reassuring people in Bolton that despite this weekend's incidents, knife crime in Bolton is rare.

He said in an exclusive interview with The Bolton News yesterday: "The number of stabbings we have had in Bolton this weekend is unprecedented and shocking.

"Bolton's reputation is now being linked to knife crime, but that is not true if you look at the facts.

"Incidents like the ones this weekend are relatively rare.

"We have had 114 incidents where someone has been found in possession of a knife or when one has been used.

"Investigations into these crimes are taken very seriously."

Speaking about the latest incident, he added: "It is thought that there had been an argument between the victim and the offender, but at this stage we do not know what it was about or if they knew each other.

"The positive thing is that someone has been arrested for the latest attack, although of course we are still approaching things with an open mind."