A MAN robbed at knifepoint in a Pendle park has described how a blade was held to his throat while the attacker demanded his cash.

"I was petrified," said Shane Blackburn, 26, of Surrey Road, Nelson. "I've not been able to sleep properly since and I'm afraid to go out of the house on my own."

Shane was attacked as he walked home from a friend's house through Victoria Park, Nelson, at 6.20pm on Tuesday.

"I'd just picked up my Giro a couple of hours earlier so I had almost £100 on me," he explained. "I saw the man walking towards me and then he stopped. I walked past him and then turned into the park. "As soon as I got near some bushes he came up to the side of me and asked me for the time. The next thing I knew he had a knife at my throat and told me to get on the floor.

"I was petrified. He told me to hand over the money and when I said I hadn't got any he said 'I know you have so hand it over'. He took the notes from my back pocket.

"He stared at me for a second or two and then kicked me in the stomach to wind me. When I looked up he had gone. There were quite a few people in the park but it didn't seem to bother him. He did things so precisely, it seemed to me that he'd done it before. He was confident and he knew what he was doing."

The man is white, aged 25-30 years, around 5ft 9in tall, of stocky build, with short dark hair and green/brown eyes. He had stubble and spots around his mouth and a distinctive red and blue tattoo on his left arm. He was wearing a blue jumper, blue jeans and black boots.

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to contact Nelson CID on 01282 472645 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

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