ROBBERS armed with a knife attacked a man has he walked along a canal towpath.

The 25-year-old victim was walking along the Bridgewater Canal near to Preston Brook Marina at around 12.30pm yesterday, Thursday, when he was accosted by the two attackers.

As he approached the bridge at the junction with Red Brow Lane, two men wearing all dark clothing and black coverings approached him and demanded his mobile phone.

One of the pair, who were around 5ft10 to 5ft tall, was brandishing a knife.

The victim did not have a phone on him, but the robbers stolen other personal items before running away in the direction of Windmill Hill and Murdishaw.

Cheshire Police’s enquiries into the incident are ongoing.

Detective constable Sophie Davies said: “This incident has understandably left the victim extremely shaken up.

“I would like to reassure residents that this appears to be an isolated incident.

“We have stepped up patrols in the area, and we are determined to establish the identities of the offenders and make them face the consequences of committing such a serious offence.

“Enquiries are ongoing, and I urge anyone who was in the area and believes that they may have seen the offenders to contact the team here at Runcorn Police Station.

“The same goes for anyone who thinks they may know who the offenders are or have CCTV or dashcam footage of them.”

Chief inspector Sarah Heath has moved to reassure residents that the force is ‘doing all it can to tackle knife crime’.

She added: “We are committed to doing all that we can to tackle knife crime.

“It is an issue that we take extremely seriously, and we will ensure that anyone found to be carrying a knife or committing a knife related offence is brought to justice.

“But the police cannot beat knife crime without the help of the local community, and we urge anyone with information about people who may be carrying knives to come forward and speak to us or independent charity Crimestoppers.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact Cheshire Police on 101, quoting incident number IML722117, or to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.