'Screams', frantic CPR and a manhunt by a canal after woman killed in broad daylight

Underneath the blazing, midday sun, another knife attack ripped apart a Greater Manchester community. A manhunt is underway after a 44-year-old woman was killed in a stabbing in Droylsden, Tameside.

Officers remain on Edge Lane this evening (June 2), close to the Ashton Canal, with an arrest yet to be made. Police say the male suspect fled the scene in an unknown direction.

Edge Lane was taped off on either side of the canal, between Manchester Road and Wheler Street, at the border with Openshaw. A forensics tent was placed near to the towpath entrance, with several crime scene investigators gathering evidence.

READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community

A number of officers patrolled the towpath, neighbouring streets and nearby Copperas Field, as the search to track down a killer was underway. Those living close to the cordon were left reeling in the wake of violence on their doorstep.

One woman had pulled up outside her Wheler Street home to see the aftermath of the shocking attack unfold. She said: "I had just got out of the car, I could see all these cars on the side and wondered if there had been a crash or something.

"Then all the police came." Performing the action of chest compressions, she added: "I saw the police officer going like that where the tent is now... doing CPR.

"It just makes you feel sick, really. It's on your doorstep. [Police] were looking in the water, there was an ambulance, we saw the police helicopter flying round."

A neighbour on Wheler Street described hearing 'screams' when the ordeal unfolded, while one resident described seeing 'blood everywhere' following the attack. They added: "It's terrible.

"You can’t comprehend it. So sad." Many residents only discovered