Murder investigation under way as man injured in 'horrendous attack' dies

Police were called by the ambulance service shortly after 9.35pm on Friday to reports that a man had been assaulted outside a house on Bickershaw Lane in Abram.

A 21-year-old man was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, but he died from his injuries on Saturday evening.

The victim has since been formally identified as William Livesley, known as Billy, from Platt Bridge.

A Home Office post-mortem examination is due to take place later today.

A 38-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder has since been released with no further action.

A 57-year-old man arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit attempted murder remains in custody for questioning.

Enquiries are ongoing and detectives are continuing to appeal to anyone with information.

Det Ch Insp Stuart Wilkinson, of Greater Manchester Police's major incident team, said: “Tragically, a young man has lost his life as a result of this incident and we are doing all we can to support his family at this unimaginably difficult time.

“We have a team of dedicated detectives working around the clock to piece together the circumstances surrounding this attack to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

“While a couple of arrests have been made, we are progressing with our enquiries and I would continue to ask anyone who witnessed this horrendous attack or anyone with information to get in touch at the earliest opportunity.”

Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 9908 or 101, quoting incident 1983 of December 28, or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.