Police officer slashed by man with sword in Manchester

Officer who responded to blade incident taken to hospital with serious injuries

Police detained a 23-year-old man after a police officer was injured (MEN Media)

A police officer has been seriously injured after he was slashed with a sword while on duty.

A 23-year-old man has been arrested after the incident in Whalley Range, Manchester, on Sunday afternoon.

Police were called to the area at around 1.50pm after reports a man was using a weapon to threaten members of the public.

Once they arrived at the scene, officers tried to engage with the man, which resulted in one of them being slashed with a sword, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.

The man was detained after a taser weapon was deployed.

GMP said the injured officer was taken to hospital after sustaining serious injuries. He is not thought to be in a life-threatening condition.

The suspect has been arrested and held on suspicion of possession of a bladed article and assaulting a police officer.

A number of roads remain closed in the surrounding area and police advised people to avoid the area if possible.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, or has any other information, is asked to call police on: 0161 856 6153 quoting incident number 1169 of March 25.