Teenager stabbed to death in Blackpool

LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) A 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death near his home on a council estate in Blackpool in the early hours of Monday, Lancashire Police said.

The boy was found on a grassed area by paramedics who had been called to the Grange Park estate in the resort town soon after 4 am, but died before he reached hospital.

A 28-year-old man who was stabbed in the same incident was taken to hospital where he was in a stable condition after undergoing emergency surgery.

Police have launched a murder inquiry into what it called a ''senseless and brutal attack'' and appealed for witnesses.

''It appears to be a severe attack and at the moment we are trying to establish why this young man suffered in the way he did,'' said Detective Superintendent Graham Gardner.

The boy's death is the latest in a series of knife and gun killings of young men which have raised concerns about the level of violence in inner city areas.

A senior judge this month said a growing knife culture was causing ''death and devastation'' and had to be stopped.

Reuters SKB DB2007