Pub landlord, 49, posted knife crime warning two weeks before he was stabbed to death ‘by drinker barred from his premises’
- Christian Thornton has been named as the landlord fatally stabbed in Widnes
- Police raced to the Hammer and Pincers pub at 3.20pm yesterday after attack
- Tributes flooding in to the landlord, with one friend calling the publican a hero
Christian Thornton (pictured) died on Sunday after being stabbed to death in his own pub in Widnes
A pub landlord who was stabbed to death posted a message about the dangers of knife crime on his Facebook page just two weeks earlier.
The message, on Christian Thornton’s page, read: ‘If you carry a knife you are nothing but a coward. Live your life drop the knife.’
Police have arrested a 35-year-old man and 39-year-old woman after the publican died yesterday.
Emergency services raced to the historic Hammer and Pincers pub in Widnes at around 3.20pm.
Police confirmed that a 49-year-old man suffered ‘serious stab wounds’ and died at the scene.
Witnesses described how the landlord confronted a man in the pub garden, who is believed to have been barred from the premises. The landlord was then repeatedly stabbed, reports suggest.
One woman told the Liverpool Echo: ‘They were pumping blood into him. He was lying on the floor where the police car is and they’ve moved him into the tent.’
Pictured: An incident tent at the pub in Widnes, where Christian Thornton died after he reportedly confronted somebody who’d been barred from his premises
This is the post that Mr Thornton shared just days before he was stabbed to death outside his own pub
Locals named the victim as Christian Thornton, landlord at the Hammer and Pincers pub. Police have not yet formally identified the victim.
Mr Thornton was from the Widnes area, according to his Facebook, and was described as ‘a lovely man’ by a local woman.
Tributes are flooding social media following the shocking stabbing at the weekend. One friend posted: ‘Awful and deeply sad news on passing today of Christian Thornton, a top man.
‘My dad taught Chris many moons ago on being a landlord when we were in Albion, been brought up in pubs for over 20 years.
‘I cant believe this today, trying to keep bad people out of pubs and protecting the nice people of the our town has cost him his life! Been a hero in my eyes. It’s so sad my thoughts go out to all his family and friends x x RIP Chris.’
A police spokesman said: ‘At 3.20pm on Sunday 11 August police received reports of a serious assault near the Hammer and Pincers pub in Liverpool Road.
‘Officers swiftly attended the scene to find the victim – a 49-year-old local man – had sustained serious stab wounds.
‘Sadly, despite the best efforts of all involved, the man died at the scene. A 35-year-old man and 39-year-old woman have been arrested in connection with the incident. They remain in custody helping police with their enquiries at this time.’
Chief Inspector Simon Parsonage, who is in charge of policing in Widnes, said: ‘Understandably the local community will be concerned about what has happened.
‘I would like to reassure those living locally that we are doing everything we can to establish the circumstances of what has happened and extra officers will be patrolling the area overnight and into the morning to provide reassurance. If you have any concerns at all please speak to an officer.’