A TERRIFIED victim needed emergency hospital treatment after being viciously slashed across the chest by an attacker wielding a razor-sharp Stanley knife.

The man, a supervisor working for a transport distribution centre based at Turnall Road, Widnes, had to have five stitches to hold together a deep slash wound which he suffered while confronting raiders in the early hours of Monday morning.

The man, who does not wish to be identified, told police how he could see figures moving around near a perimeter fence at the back of an enclosed compound.

But when he went down to take a closer look, a man started walking towards him and as the supervisor demanded to know what he was doing there, he noticed the offender was brandishing a Stanley knife.

Police say the victim held up his hands to stave off the offender but couldn't prevent him lashing out. The attacker and his accomplice immediately fled the scene.

The blade had penetrated the victim's clothing and left him with a deep three inch long cut across the left side of his chest. He was taken by ambulance to Whiston Hospital for treatment.