A CHEF is helping police with their inquiries after a man was stabbed to death at Bolton's prestige Last Drop Hotel.

The dead man, who has not been named, is believed to have been a waiter. His body was found in a hotel bedroom.

A female guest also suffered a broken arm in the incident at the hotel in Hospital Road, Bromley Cross. It is thought she broke her arm leaping from a bedroom window.

The complex was sealed off as detectives interviewed all 70 guests who stayed on Wednesday night.

Police were called shortly after 6am on Thursday following reports that a man had been killed and his attacker had fled.

Extra officers were drafted into the area -- including men from the Tactical Aid Unit. They arrested a man in the grounds of the 128 bedroom hotel.

Several rooms were cordoned off as forensic scientists and scenes of crimes officers searched the building.

Officers with dogs were also brought in to search surrounding fields.

A fleet of police vehicles and three vans were used to bring the additional police teams to the scene.

The injured woman was taken from the hotel in a police car to the Royal Bolton Hospital for treatment.

The Last Drop Hotel complex was still sealed off at lunchtime. Officers were turning visitors away on the driveway leading to the entrance.

But hotel staff were still allowed to turn up for work as normal before they were all quizzed by detectives in the hotel's conference rooms.

Supt Alan Green, of Bolton police, said: "The dead man suffered stab wounds. He was a member of staff. The injured woman was a guest at the hotel and there are a number of crime scenes within the building."

He added: "We didn't catch the man straight away because he had fled the scene. He was caught in the grounds. All of the 70 guests have been accounted for and some have been interviewed as part of the investigation."

Martin Blowe, aged 34, an accounts manager with the Alliance and Leicester, stayed at the hotel on Wednesday night. He said: "We were woken at about 6.30am by police officers saying there had been an incident involving staff.

"The mood in the hotel was normal despite the fact it was swarming with police. We had breakfast as normal. It is the first time I had stayed at the hotel I am attending a conference in Bolton today."