British police have released pictures of a woman (66) who was stabbed in the arm with a ballpoint pen in the an attempt to track down her attacker.

Cynthia Bell was helping her husband's coach firm last month when the man boarded one of the buses in Seasiders Way in Blackpool and refused to leave.

After tampering with the controls near the driver's seat, he grabbed the pen and stabbed Ms Bell before running off.

Detective Superintendent Mark Dickinson, from Lancashire Police, said: "As you can see from Mrs Bell's photograph, significant force must have been used by the offender who stabbed her."

"She was lucky to have escaped without serious blood loss or any nerve damage. We are pursuing a number of lines of inquiry, including CCTV and forensic opportunities."

"I am particularly keen to identify and speak with two young women who were with the offender and I would ask them, or anyone who recognises them from their descriptions, to contact me as soon as possible."

Police described the suspect as a white male in his late teens or early 20s, 6-foot and of stocky build, with short dark hair.

He was with two young women. The first is described as white, wearing a pink top with a floral pattern, with a pram or pushchair. She walked with a limp.

The second woman had blonde hair and was wearing a cream jumper. She had a tattoo on the right side of her lower stomach on display.