A MAN was rushed to hospital after being injured in a suspected ammonia attack in the town centre.

The 25-year-old was seen writhing in pain on the ground in Knowsley Street, outside the Market Place Shopping Centre.

Police closed off the street and fire crews were called in to decontaminate the area.

Witness Lauren Cassidy said: “I got there just after 5pm and there was a guy on the floor,” she said.

“As I came closer he woke up and just started screaming.”

The Bolton News:

“There was a lady was holding a bottle of something. It looked like washing-up liquid but I don’t know what it was.

“She was shouting, showing it to people and saying ‘this is what they put in his eyes’. The man was holding his eyes and screaming.”

Iva Lee, who runs nearby Envy Nails was in her shop when the incident happened but said she saw the victim being attacked by a group of men.

She said: “I was on my phone watching a video and I heard someone running. I didn’t really pay attention at first but then I heard shouting. When I looked up I saw a guy lying on the floor outside.

“There was a group of boys just beating him and shouting. They were kicking him while he was on the floor.”

A police spokesman told The Bolton News: “We were called to reports of a disturbance at the Market Place in Bolton at 5.10pm.

“A 25-year-old man was taken to hospital as a result of the incident. He was conscious and responsive but in pain.”

The Bolton News:

After the victim was taken for treatment by paramedics, fire crews began to decontaminate the area where the incident happened.

Jason Riding, crew manager at Bolton Central Fire Station, said his team was called in to help clean up the dangerous substance.

He said: “Ammonia is a hazardous material so we were involved in the treatment of the casualty and the decontamination.”

Ammonia is corrosive and can cause burning of the eyes, nose and throat if it comes into contact with the skin.