A CAFE worker has told how she rushed to the rescue of a man after he suffered knife wouns in an alleged street attack.

A 25-year-old man was taken to hospital suffering from cuts following the incident in Penny Street, Blackburn at 4.20pm on wednesday.

His injuries are not life threatening and he is due to be allowed home.

The 22-year-old cafe worker, who asked not to be named, was on her way home at the end of a shift when she saw two men close to the closed Animal Magic shop.

She said: "I was in my car and I thought they were just messing about but then I saw a red handled knife.

"The man fell to the floor. I thought I can't just leave him there' so I turned my car round and went back to help him."

She added: "He was in quite a bad way and there was a lot of blood. When I saw how much blood there was I realised it was quite serious. It seemed to be coming from an injury behind his ear, his back and his front. He was having difficulty breathing but he was conscious and was talking.

"There were a lot of people around trying to help. The ambulance arrived quite quickly."

The worker said: "It was frightening. You read about these things happening but you don't think you will ever see it with your own eyes."

DC Keith Rimmer of Blackburn CID said: "The victim did not sustain life threatening injuries although he was kept in hospital overnight because of the lacerations he received. He was still at the scene when we arrived.

"It was a busy time of day and we would urge anyone who saw anything to come forward."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the police on 0845 1 25 35 45 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

A 21-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of assault and is being questioned by police.