One of the children injured in a knife attack in a playground in France is a British national.

Foreign secretary James Cleverly confirmed their nationality in a statement following multiple stabbings in the town of Annecy in the French alps.

President Emmanuel Macron called the attack an act of “absolute cowardice” and said the “nation is in shock”.

A man armed with a knife is believed to have entered a children’s playground in a park near the town’s renowned lake.

French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said that the suspected attacker had been arrested and a press conference with police is due to take place shortly.

Warning, this video contains scenes that some viewers may find upsetting.

Eyewitness footage has emerged of a man stalking a playground before allegedly attacking children in Annecy, southeastern France, on Thursday 8 June.

The video shows the suspect walking in the area as members of the public can be heard screaming.

French authorities confirmed four children – aged between 22 months and three years – suffered life-threatening wounds in the attack.

Police have said the suspected attacker has legal refugee status in France.

He was not previously known to authorities.

Suella Braverman said she is “appalled” by the playground attack in a lakeside park in the French Alps.

The Home Secretary tweeted: “I am appalled by the attack on young children in Annecy, France.

“My thoughts are with the children, their families and the local community who have been affected by this shocking act.

“I’m in touch with my friend, Minister GDarmanin (French interior minister Gerald Darmanin), to offer our full support.”

Sir Keir Starmer offered his solidarity with France after several very young children were stabbed in the French Alps.

The Labour leader tweeted: “Horrific news from Annecy.

“My thoughts are with the victims of today’s shocking attack, their families and the wider community.

“The U.K. is united in offering our support to France.”

Annecy resident Dominique Griziaux said he was at the nearby “Pop Beach” when the wail of sirens filled the air. The attack had left him feeling sick inside.

“You put yourself in the place of parents and grandparents put through this drama,” said Griziaux, adding that an attack on such young children was “just unthinkable”.

“You’d never think this could be possible in such a peaceful, bucolic environment as Annecy.”

Anthony Le Tallec was jogging around the pristine waters of Lake Annecy in the foothills of the Alps when a wave of panicked bystanders rushed past in the opposite direction.

One mother urged him to turn and run.

“There’s someone stabbing everyone along the lakeshore. He’s knifed children,” Le Tallec, a former professional football player with Liverpool FC, quoted her as telling him in a video account of what he saw that he posted on Instagram.

Confused, Le Tallec said he kept jogging through the park in the town of Annecy but soon saw a man heading his way with police officers in pursuit but struggling to catch up.

“I see that he’s heading straight for a group of elderly men and women. He attacks one grandpa, stabs him once, the cops can’t catch him, so I tell the cops, ‘shoot him’,” Le Tallec continued.

Speaking to reporters in France, the father of children who witnessed the knife attack in Annecy has said that his family lives have been “turned upside down.”

“We’re in a total panic. We spent two hours without any news. Now I know my children are safe”, he said.

“All of our lives have been turned upside down because for years we’ve been walking alongside the lake.

“We made it, but now we’re thinking back. Now there is a before and an after.

“We have fear in our stomachs. My children will not be living in a quiet state of mind anymore.”

A woman who said she had witnessed the attack said that the attacker had jumped over a park fence and stabbed a small girl and a baby in a stroller.

“I really thought it was a joke, but not at all,” the woman, who was not identified, told France Bleu radio.

“When I heard the mother’s scream, I started to run.”

French prime minister Élisabeth Borne has confirmed that the alleged Annecy knife attacker, a 31-year-old man from Syria, was granted refugee status by Sweden.

The French prosecutor added that 4 children aged between 22 months and 3 years suffered life-threatening wounds.

The prosecutor added that the alleged attacker was slightly injured.

One of the children injured in a knife attack in a playground in France is a Dutch national, and another British, the Annecy prosecutor has confirmed.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak earlier tweeted: “My thoughts are with all of those affected by the shocking attack in Annecy this morning.

Calling it a “truly cowardly act”, he said: “The UK and France have always stood together against acts of violence, and we do so again today.”