Festival-goer fighting for life after attack at Parklife Weekender in Manchester

Two men were also stabbed in a separate incident. Photo: Gary Brown

Parklife festival (Parklife festival/Twitter/Gary Brown)

A man is fighting for his life after being brutally attacked and knocked unconscious at the Parklife Weekender Festival in Manchester.

The 26-year-old man and his girlfriend were dancing in front of the main stage when he was knocked to the ground by an unknown man at about 9.15pm on Saturday.

Police believe the attack was witnessed by hundreds of fellow revellers among more than 60,000 at the music festival.

Two people, thought to be off-duty paramedics, gave him CPR at the scene and he was taken to hospital, where his condition deteriorated.

Detective Inspector Mark Tootill, from Greater Manchester Police, said: “The attack happened in a large crowd at one of the peak times of the festival, so we know there will be some people out there who have witnessed this assault.

“We believe that the victim may have been treated soon after the attack by two off-duty medical staff, who administered CPR before he was taken to the medical tent by security.

“We are extremely keen to speak to those two people, or anyone else who believe they may have seen the attack take place.”

In a separate incident, two men were stabbed during a fight at the festival, which saw Snoop Dogg, Foals, Bastille and Katy B take to the stage at Heaton Park.

Police were called at 7.30pm on Saturday and two men, aged 26 and 22, have been arrested.

One of the victims was left in hospital with serious injuries and another was treated at the scene.

Officers were also called to several other assaults where three more men were injured but police said it was “unclear” whether weapons were used.

A spokesman for the Parklife Weekender said organisers took pride in a history "without any incidents", calling the weekend's attack "isolated".

He added: “We will update as soon as we can and we are in constant contact with the medical services and police to help as much as possible.

"We urge festival goers to help the police identify the individual involved in the incident and contact them if they have any information at all.”

The two-day festival sparked controversy in May when marketing text messages were sent out claiming to be from the recipient’s "mum".

Organisers apologised for “unnecessary personal distress” after a text was sent to a teenager whose mother died three years ago.