Boy, 15, stabbed in the back on busy bus

A 15-year-old boy was taken to hospital after being stabbed in the back on a bus.

He ran off the busy Stagecoach vehicle on Walton Hall Road in Liverpool at about 17:35 GMT and was found nearby with injuries to his back.

Merseyside Police said it was trying to track down the two suspects, who were dressed all in black and wearing hoods, and who also ran off the vehicle in the direction of Queens Drive.

Detective Chief Inspector Lynsay Armbruster said incident was "shocking", and appealed to bus passengers who may have seen the attack to contact police.

DCI Armbruster said the attack "started with an altercation" between the three.

“The community will rightly be concerned by this incident, but please be assured that we are taking this extremely seriously," she said.

“The bus would have been busy with other passengers, who will also be alarmed at witnessing what happened."

DCI Armbruster urged anyone with information, including those who lived in the area or may have driven past and seen something, to contact the force.

She said there was "no place" for knives in the local community and on Merseyside "we sadly know the consequences of people carrying these weapons".

The boy was said to be in a "serious but stable condition".