A teenage girl has told of the moment she was threatened with a 7-inch blade by a gang of teenagers in Walkden.
The 19-year-old victim, who does not want to be identified, was walking home with her boyfriend down Ridyard Street, around 100 yards from Walkden high street, at around 6.30pm on Friday 30 October.
The pair got split up, and when she turned into a ginnel she stooped over to pick up a pack of cigarettes she’d dropped, a group of five teenagers, three of whom were white, and two black, started shouting insults at her.
She told SalfordOnline.com: “I’d never seen them before but one suddenly said to me, ‘You fat b***h’.
“I turned around and said: ‘What did you say?’
“They repeated it so I said ‘I’d rather be fat than a chav’, and that’s when one of them got off his bike.
“He came over to me and said, ‘Don’t get cocky,’ while his mate pulled out a knife and started to wave it in my face acting as if he was going to cut my neck.
“All I remember was that it was about 7 inches long, with a black handle and silver blade.
“I started shouting and my boyfriend ran back to me.
“They backed away a bit but when my boyfriend asked what was going on, one came over and held the knife to his chest, then another lad picked up a brick and threatened to smash it over his head.
“One of the smaller lads said, ‘Let’s just go,’ and they ran off.
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The youths are thought to be between 15 and 17, with the youngest around 13.
The girl, who was left extremely shaken by the threats, called police, who sent out a car which picked up a group of teenagers near St Mary’s Park, north of the town centre.
“We had to go and identify them to see if it was the lads who threatened us,” she said.
“It turned out not to be them but when the group were pulled over they also had a knife on them, so at least we got one knife off the street.”
“I just wanted to let people know how bad it’s getting. It’s terrifying to think you might face having a knife pulled on you just for walking down the street.”
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “Officers were called to Ridyard Street, Walkden, at 6.50pm on Friday 30 October after receiving reports that a young couple had been threatened at knife point by a group of teenagers aged between 13 and 17.
“A search of the area located a group of youths who were stopped for questioning, a knife was found nearby.
“CCTV footage and the couple involved confirmed that these were not the same group of teenagers.
“Nobody was arrested and police enquiries are continuing.”
Knife crime in the UK rose for the first time in four years, according to July data from the Office for National Statistics.
Official figures for 2014/15 show that police recorded 26,370 offences, up from 25,974 the previous year.
Under tougher new laws brought in this summer, adults convicted more than once of knife possession face a minimum six month jail sentence, up to a maximum of four years.
Young offenders, aged 16 and 17, face a minimum four month detention and training order.
A month-long ‘Bin the Blade’ knife amnesty earlier this year by Greater Manchester Police saw over 1,500 lethal weapons taken off the streets.
They included swords, axes, hunting knives and cutthroat razors.
Councillor Richard Critchley, who represents Walkden, said: “My sincere sympathies go out to the young lady involved. This would have been a terrifying incident, something no-one should ever face.
“It is essential that these thugs are caught quickly and brought to account. They clearly have no respect for society and must be arrested for people to feel safe.
“I plead for anyone with any information to make contact with the police”.
Anyone with any information is asked to call Greater Manchester Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
