Seven-year-old girl stabbed to death by stranger in Bolton Park

The suspect, aged 30 and not known to the child's family, was detained by a member of the public at the scene in Queen's Park in Bolton.

Greater Manchester Police were called shortly after 2.30pm on Sunday and, together with the ambulance service, found the child had been attacked with a knife.

The girl suffered "extremely serious injuries" and died a short time later.

Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson said she had been enjoying a day out with her family before the unprovoked attack and described it as "a family's worst nightmare".

He said: "Words cannot describe how awful this attack is. The family were out in the park, enjoying the spring sun when in a totally unprovoked and random attack this little girl sustained horrendous injuries and sadly died a short while later.

"A 30-year-old woman who was not known to the family was detained by a member of the public and then arrested by the police. She is currently in custody for murder and it is expected she will be interviewed by detectives later."

He said officers are working to understand a motive for the "completely random and brutal attack".

He added: "We understand that the woman has some history of mental illness and we are working to understand if this played any part in her motive."