A 24-year-old man has been stabbed to death in a brawl outside a pub in Greater Manchester.

Police were called to reports of a “large fight” and a stabbing outside the Royal Oak Hotel pub in Failsworth at about 3am on Sunday.

The victim suffered serious stab wounds and was taken to hospital where he died shortly after.

Two other men, aged 22 and 23, also suffered serious injuries in the disturbance in Oldham Road.

Police have launched a murder inquiry but said no arrests have been made as it is believed others involved had already left the scene.

Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Creely, of Greater Manchester Police, said: “This is an awful situation to be dealing with this morning. Sadly a man has lost his life. My thoughts are with his family at this devastating time.

“We have a large scene in place and we are currently scouring the scene for evidence.

“We believe there was a fight involving a number of people which ended with the loss of a life and two others with serious but not life-threatening injuries.

“We will be looking through CCTV to identify those involved and I would suggest they come forward to police before we come knocking.

“I would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the fighting. Any information you may have could be vital to our investigation, so please get in touch.”

Neighbourhood officers have been deployed to the area to assist colleagues from the major incident team.

Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 9908. Alternatively call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.