Paris striker hurts seven people

Seven people were injured, including four seriously, in an attack by a man armed with a knife and iron bar in the French capital, Paris, police said.

The man, said Afghan, was arrested. Sources said that there was no indication that it was a terrorist attack.

Several reports indicate that two of the wounded are British tourists.

The attack took place just before 23:00 (21:00 GMT) on the banks of a canal in the 19th district, northeast of the capital.

Sources said that the man had attacked foreigners, stabbing two men and a woman near the MK2 cinema on the quai de Loire, along the Ourcq canal.

Several people playing petanque nearby would have thrown bullets at the attacker to try to stop him.

The man was hit and fled. He then attacked the two British tourists in Henri Nogueres Street.

"We are urgently investigating this incident and are in close contact with the French authorities," the British Foreign Office said in a statement.

A French police source said: "At this stage, nothing indicates that this could be a terrorist attack".