A woman was heard shouting "kill, kill, kill" before trying to stab a passer-by with a foot long kitchen knife near the market square in Barnsley, eyewitnesses have claimed.

The woman was seen removing a knife from her handbag and chasing a man in his 50's as market traders were setting up their stalls in the South Yorkshire town on Saturday morning.

Abdul Razzaq, a market trader, told how he followed the woman before persuading her to put down the knife that she had earlier removed from some packaging in her bag.

Mr Razzaq, 43, said: "I ran for this lady and she was saying: 'Kill, kill, kill, kill'. Everybody was scared. Everybody ran. I followed this lady. I said: 'Don't touch anybody.'

"I said: 'Kill me but don't touch my people - keep that attack for me.' I said: 'You're a terrorist' and she said, 'I'm no terrorist.'

"I said: 'You're a terrorist because you do this. Why do you attack the people?' She just said: "Kill people. Kill people.'"