A MAN is in hospital this evening after being shot in the stomach in Bolton.

The shooting took place in Cannon Street today at 3.45pm.

A North West Ambulance Service spokesman confirmed that the victim - a man in his 20s - was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary with a gunshot wound to the stomach. It is not known how serious his condition is.

Witnesses reported seeing him lying in the middle of the street and being treated at the scene by paramedics before being airlifted away.

Cannon Street has been cordoned off tonight close to the Bolton Council of Mosques and there several police vehicles, including a Tactical Aid Unit, at the scene.

Adil Aslam, who was working at the nearby Manchester Superstore at the time of the shooting, said: "I saw the police coming in and they blocked off the roads and our car park.

"Then a helicopter landed in the park behind us. I walked up there and saw a man lying in the road, breathing very heavily.

"A crowd of people had come out to watch. Paramedics came to treat him and then they airlifted him away."

One resident said: "I saw police shutting off the street. I don't know what happened but I saw someone lying in the middle of the road."