THE response time of police officers has been slammed following a report of a teenage girl being threatened with a knife.

It comes after Cheshire Police received a report of a young teenager being threatened by someone of a similar age with a Stanley knife in the Orford area on Wednesday.

The family of the complainant reported the incident to the force at around 1.30pm yesterday, Thursday.

Having been told after calling back a number of occasions since then that an officer would be in touch, they had still not heard back regarding taking a statement today, Friday.

Speaking to the Warrington Guardian, and referencing the prevalence of knife crime across the country, one family member branded the police’s response time as ‘absolutely atrocious’.

In response, a spokesman for Cheshire Police said: “At around 2pm on Thursday, April 25, police were made aware of reports that a teenager had been threatened with a bladed article in Warrington.

“The incident is reported to have occurred while the teenager was walking home from school.

“The suspect has been named and the school are aware of the incident, and all relevant parties have been informed.

“Officers are planning to speak to the victim later today to take a full statement. The suspect will also be spoken to in due course.”