ONLY hours after a Carleton man spoke of his fears about gangs of youths who congregate in Carleton Crematorium, a Blackpool teenager was robbed at knifepoint.

The youngster, who has not been named, was taking a short-cut through the cemetery grounds with friends on Saturday night, when two men approached, one brandishing what appeared to be a knife.

One of the attackers grabbed the 14-year-old by the collar and threw him to the ground, kicking and beating him before stealing his mobile phone worth about £100.

The youngster suffered cuts to his mouth and face and was treated at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Hours before, concerned resident Paul Morris contacted The Citizen to say he'd been threatened by teenagers while walking his dog and had witnessed gangs of youngsters, some as young as nine, drinking and smoking.

"I was walking my dog the other night and I nearly got my head kicked in for no apparent reason," he said.

"I'm six foot two inches tall and even I'm scared out walking up there on my own. Before long there's going to be something really nasty happening up there.

"There's kids of eight, nine and ten years of age out at ten o'clock at night. You can hear them all screaming and shouting. There's about 40 or 50 kids there. You have to see it to believe it."

He said he was growing increasingly concerned for the safety of other people, and that he had alerted police but that nothing seemed to be happening.

Sergeant Steve Needham of Blackpool North police station, Bispham, said attempts were being made to discourage youngsters from meeting at the crematorium.

"We are aware now that there are groups congregating in the crematorium drinking alcohol so the community beat manager has now taken on board an initiative to prevent the problems," he said.

He added that there have also been "a couple of incidents" involving damage to toilets. "We are aware and we are investigating." Sgt Needham said officers were "open-minded" about whether or not the weekend attack and the problems with other youngsters were linked but that at this stage there was no connection.

There was however some concern that drunken youths massing at the crematorium may also be leaving themselves vulnerable to attack.

The 14-year-old's attacker was described as about 6ft 4in and aged around 20. He was heavily built, clean-shaven, had a skinhead haircut and was wearing a blue jacket, white tracksuit bottoms and black boots.

The second man was 6ft 2in , also aged about 20 and heavily built. He was possibly of mixed race with black, dreadlock hair and a goatee beard. He was wearing a blue, orange and white striped jumper and dark jeans.

Detective Inspector Paul Phillpott of Blackpool Police described it as a "vicious attack" and appealed for anyone with information to contact the police on 293933 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.