Police cordon outside pub

The pub was already taped off as Bury town centre began to come to life this morning. Commuters heading for Bury Interchange across the road looked to see what was happening as they headed for trams and buses.

Early shoppers and workers stopped to see what had happened. Cardboard, paper towels and disposable gloves lay on the ground next to large patches of blood.

A number of concerned passers-by asked the police officer on duty - and the M.E.N. - whether it had been ‘another stabbing’, with the community still rocked by recent incidents in Bury. Those who regularly work close to the scene were shocked to see police outside the pub.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like it,” a worker at the nearby council facility on the corner with Angouleme Way said. She told the M.E.N. she knew nothing about the incident other than the cordon, which was already in place as workers arrived.

A member of staff at next-door GLP Solicitors added: “There’s a crime scene that’s been going on for a few hours. Everyone has got their own suspicions but we don’t know what has gone on.”

Forensics arrived on the scene by 9.20am to gather evidence from outside the pub, before the cordon was lifted 15 minutes later.