A man suffered more than 20 gunshot wounds to his back, legs and buttocks after he was shot at in Rochdale.

The incident took place at 4.20pm yesterday after three men pulled up outside a house on Beal Crescent on the Belfield estate in a blue Subaru.

They approached the 24-year-old victim brandishing a knife and attempted to march him along the street.

The victim managed to struggle free and ran off but as he did so heard one of men shout: "Shoot him."

The victim then heard two bangs and realised he had been shot in the legs, back and bottom.

He managed to get to the Royal Oldham Hospital where it was found he had more than 20 wounds consistent with pellets from a shotgun. His injuries are not life threatening and he has since been discharged from hospital.

The first offender is described as a white man, about 6ft 2in tall, of slim build and in his late 20s or mid 30s. He had short brown hair and was wearing a waist-length Puffa-style jacket and sunglasses.

The second man was also white, about 5ft 8in tall, of medium build and also in his late 20s or mid 30s. He had longish light brown or ginger hair coming over the side of his face and was wearing a long dark navy blue woollen coat.

The third man was white, about 5ft 7in tall, of normal build and in his late 20s or mid 30s. He had short brown hair which was longer on top with a centre parting. He was wearing a white t-shirt.

Detective Inspector Daryl Chadwick, based at Rochdale CID, said: "This was a shocking incident in which a shotgun was fired on a busy housing estate when there may have been children out playing.

"Luckily, the injuries to the victim were not life-threatening but the intent was clear and the consequences could have been tragic.

"At this stage we would not want to speculate about a possible motive. However, we are conducting area searches, house-to-house inquiries and viewing CCTV footage. We are doing everything to apprehend these dangerous offenders and bring them to justice.

"Incidents of this type are thankfully very rare in Rochdale but one firearms incident is one too many. We will not tolerate the use or distribution of firearms in Rochdale and those who seek to disrupt the peaceful existence of law-abiding members of our communities will be punished severely.

"I would also ask the community to help us in our inquiries. If you have any information about what happened, please come forward. You could hold the key to solving this crime and helping police to ensure this sort of thing does not happen."

Anyone with any information is asked to call Rochdale CID on 0161 856 4644 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.