RESIDENTS have been warned to stay out of parks at night after a man was stabbed in a mugging.

The warning comes following an incident on Tuesday night when a man who was asked to hand over his phone, refused and was stabbed.

The incident took place in Queens Park which is council leader Cliff Morris's ward of Halliwell.

He has warned residents to stay out of parks due to a lack of lighting.

He said: “Because there are no lights, I’d ask people to stay out of parks at night.

“We’ve cut down a lot of trees in the park so it’s much safer as it’s more open than it has ever been. I don’t want to discourage people from using the parks but they shouldn’t be using parks after dark. There’s no lights in there and they can be dangerous places.”

Police were called to Queens Park at around 7.15pm on Tuesday night, to reports that a 26-year-old man had been stabbed. The incident occurred after the attacker demanded the victim hand over his mobile phone but he refused. The victim was then stabbed before the man ran off fled in to the park.

Users of the park told the Bolton News that they would not feel comfortable using the park at night. Michelle and Graham Shuck walk their dogs there. Mrs Shuck said that she would not use it at night as it is not lit up and would not feel safe.

However, another park user, who did not wish to be named, said that he had no concerns using the park after dark.

He said: “I just came back from holiday and I read about the stabbing on my phone.“I used to spend most of my childhood in here.“I don’t really come in the park in the evenings, I’ve not heard of any problems recently. I wouldn’t be concerned coming here at night.”

The attacker is described as white, slim. about five foot eight inches tall wearing white trainers and a black coat. He had a Bolton accent. Police patrols have been increased. Anyone with information can contact police on 0161 856 5619.