A MAN was stabbed repeatedly by a group of men as he sat in his car.

The gang, armed with knives and a machete, surrounded his vehicle before setting on the terrified victim.

They then fled in a blue Vauxhall Vectra before dumping the weapons in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal around one-and-a-half miles away.

The 26-year-old man, who was not named, was attacked in Brown Street, Accrington.

Witnesses described how a woman fled from the vehicle just seconds before the stabbing.

Police said the man suffered several wounds on the right side of his body and was last night at Royal Blackburn Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Hours after the attack, which happened at 5.45pm on Tuesday, a police underwater recovery unit used frogmen to trawl the canal behind the Albion pub in Clayton-le-Moors.

They recovered two knives and a machete which are now undergoing forensic examination.

People in Brown Street said the victim’s car had been parked outside NH Foods cash and carry when he was attacked.

A man who was working in the shop said: “I saw the woman come in and then dash out again.

“She didn’t look hurt and she was in here while the man was being stabbed. I didn’t see much more than that because I was in the shop.”

Resident Tom Hillard said he was really shocked by the incident. He said: “I saw the man bleeding heavily from the right hand side of his body.

“When I looked out of my window the attackers had driven away and the police were just arriving.”

The landlord of the Albion said police started searching the canal at around 9pm.

He said: “One of our regulars was outside the back of the pub having a cigarette and saw the men chucking the weapons into the canal.

“The CCTV that we have here did not really show the men, but it does show them throwing something into the water and you can see the splash.

“People come and chuck things in there all the time so it’s nothing new, but I don’t think weapons have been put in there before.”

Detective Inspector Mark Vaughton said: “This was a vicious assault, but we do believe the victim may have known his attackers, we do not think this was a random attack.

“If anybody was in the area at this time and saw anybody acting suspiciously, or has information at all which they think could help, then please contact police.

“I am also keen to speak to anyone who may have seen a group of men acting suspiciously near to the canal behind the Albion pub a short time after 5.45pm.”