A man was stabbed in the back of the head and another slashed under his eye during a late night knife attack outside a bar.

Police were called at around midnight on Friday, January 5 to reports of serious disorder outside Overdraught Karaoke Bar on Blackburn Street, Radcliffe.

An interim licensing review of the bar requested by Greater Manchester Police heard that two men sustained serious injuries in a brief altercation after two suspects had entered and then left the premises.

Addressing a Bury Council licensing panel, PC Peter Eccleston said one victim received a cut to the left side of his face, close to the eye socket and a slash to his left arm, just below the elbow.

He said the second victim received a two centimetre cut to the back of the head, close to the base of his skull.

PC Eccleston said: “This could have had the potential to permanently paralyse or even prove fatal if he was struck millimetres either side.”

The panel heard that two crimes of wounding with intent were recorded by police, that CID were investigating and that the two suspects remained at large.

Explaining the lead up to the incident, PC Eccleston, said: “It has been established at 11.55pm two unknown patrons, who have not been seen in the premises before, were in conversation with two other regular customers outside.

“It appears that something untoward may been said which has resulted in the conversation escalating into serious violence. The incident is over with within seconds, one of the victims is punched continuously to the face and head and at one point one of the offenders appears to be making a stabbing motion with his hand at the back of the victim’s head.

“The other victim and friend, tries to intervene and again he is attacked and punched in the head several times. Although the footage is not the best quality you can see one of the offenders, loses grip of something which then drops to the floor and the same offender picks it back up again.

“Evidence obtained from witnesses and the victims suggest that the item dropped on the floor was a knife approximately two inches in length.”

Both victims required hospital treatment and although one initially refused to attend hospital, he fell unconscious and unresponsive when he returned home.

An ambulance was then called by concerned family members. Both men are understood to have now recovered.

PC Eccleston said that no door supervisors were on duty at the premises there were no specific conditions within the licence which commits the premises to employ SIA registered door supervisors at weekends when the licence extends to 2am.

He said: “Had door supervision been on duty, this incident may have been prevented whether that be intervening early to prevent escalation or searching of patrons prior to entry, which would have prevented the presence of lethal weapon on licensed premises.”

He added that there was no history of incidents relating to Overdraught and that he had no intention to request a suspension or revocation of the premises licence.

Licensee Alistair Johnson said he had run the bar for 13 years without incident and that normally he would have stopped entry to the bar at 11.30pm as was his custom.

He said he had enrolled on a SIA registered door supervisor course next month and was also paying for a friend to undertake the same training in order for them to undertake that role.

The panel imposed an interim measure of the need to implement an incident book at the bar and a full licensing review hearing will take place within the next 28 days.