Young brothers critical after stab attack

Two brothers, aged four and six, are critically ill after being stabbed in the neck yesterday, police said.

Adam Schofield and elder brother Daniel were attacked in their home in Lodge Street, Accrington, Lancashire. Ambulance crews were called to the house after the boys' mother went into Accrington police station to report an assault.

Both boys were taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary. A spokesman for Lancashire police said: "This is a tragic incident. For two boys as young as this to be stabbed is beyond belief.

"Adam is in theatre at Blackburn Royal Infirmary ... the mother is with the boys and being helped by a family liaison officer."

Neighbour Margaret Gregory said: "This is a terrible thing to have happened. I've seen the boys playing out and they're lovely little children. There doesn't seem to have been any trouble at the house before and they seemed like a nice family. I heard a bang this morning and when I saw the ambulance arrive I thought perhaps somebody had been shot. The postman later told me he had seen the house with its front door virtually ripped off, so that must have been what we heard."

A man is helping police with their inquiries.