LIVE updates: Church cordoned off and police presence in Eccles amid reports of serious stabbing incident

A large police cordon is in place around the parish church in Eccles this evening amid reports that a man has been stabbed.

A number of police vehicles are at the scene of the incident on Church Street in Eccles.

CID are also in attendance. Unconfirmed reports from the scene claim that a man in his twenties has been seriously injured after being stabbed.

Images from the scene show an abandoned bike in the church yard and clothes strewn on the grass.

Greater Manchester Police have been contacted by the Manchester Evening News but are yet to issue a statement.

We'll bring you all the latest updates in our blog below.

A footpath cutting through the churchyard seems to be where police will be focusing on - on the path remains a bike which is 'surrounded by medical equipment' which has been left at the scene, according to an eyewitness.

Crime scene investigators, detectives from the criminal investigation department, and a host of officers are surrounding and inside the cordon.

We're being informed by those at the scene that the entirety of the church and the churchyard has been taped off by police.

According to residents at the scene, a man has been taken to hospital 'after being stabbed in the leg' in what is understood to be a serious incident.