The axe was obvious, even though it was hidden under a shirt.
The young man said he had brought it 'to do over some Pakis', but Oldham landlord Andy Williams, a former soldier, does not tolerate the National Front in his pub. He grabbed the axe.
On this occasion the aggressor backed down, but Williams's firm stance has earned him threats from far-Right extremists who disapprove of the fact he serves Asians in his pub. 'You get caught in the middle. It is ridiculous,' he said. 'They are destroying this town.'
The man with the axe, Williams believes, was probably no older than 18. But it is youths like him who have brought Oldham to the brink of a racial disaster. Williams is staying put, but another landlord has already been hounded out. The man moved to Spain last week after repeated phone threats from extremists who knew details about his wife and children.
And things are getting worse. Six weeks of rallies, riots and racial attacks - from all sides - saw the British National Party last week register its best-ever performance in a general election. In Oldham's two seats they polled more than 11,000 votes. Party leader Nick Griffin's 16 per cent share of the ballot in one constituency pushed the Liberal Democrats into fourth place.
Oldham has suddenly become a byword for racial problems in Britain, catapulting the impoverished northern town into newspaper headlines around the world. Williams said he saw it coming. 'About three months ago a few of my locals were talking about the BNP coming here. I told them to leave it well alone or they would tear Oldham apart,' he said.
Today should have seen a parade through the town centre as part of the Oldham carnival. It has been cancelled for fear that National Front supporters would use it as a march. Already the area is a virtual no-go area for Asians at the weekends and at night.
The taxi industry, which is almost entirely staffed by Asians, grinds to a halt when the NF are in town. Scars of the trouble are obvious. Along one main road four pubs have boarded-up windows after an attack by Asian youths. The situation is still too tense for anyone to risk replacing the glass. A few BNP supporters are organising a boycott of Asian-owned businesses, but already the town is suffering a collapse in trade. Most shops have seen income down around 80 per cent as shoppers stay away.
This is not an economic crisis Oldham can afford. The area is short of jobs and the racial tension is guaranteed to put off potential investors. Two weeks ago an electronics firm closed down, with the loss of 150 jobs.
'If you want to build a factory and you can choose between Rochdale, Bury or Oldham you are not going to put it here any more are you?' said one businessman.
There is going to be no let-up either. The Observer revealed last week that far-Right extremists plan to target the town this summer, specifically aiming to attack local Asians in the hope of sparking widespread unrest.
'We just need a break from all this, but we are not going to get it,' said deputy mayor and Labour councillor Riaz Ahmed.
Many BNP supporters are disaffected youths or the poor and unemployed who have been overlooked by Britain's economic boom and are vulnerable to the suggestion that Asians are responsible. Lee Kiley, 22, is typical. He believes whites are discriminated against and voted BNP. 'I am not racist. I want the same rights as Asians,' he said.
But Asian areas too are poor. The main concentration is the Glodwick area, which has the poorest quality housing in the area. Like their white counter parts, some Asian youths have also turned to violence. Attacks on whites have been increasing and wide publicity was given to claims by some Asian youths that they had set up no-go areas.
It is a melting pot of poverty and racial tension which has allowed Griffin to pose as the acceptable face of Britain's far right. He has vowed to be back next year as a candidate in local elections and has even tried to reassure Asians. 'Asians have nothing to fear from us whatsoever. We are not fascists,' he said last week.
Unsurprisingly, such comments cut no ice with the Asians that Griffin wants to repatriate to India or Pakistan. Behind the suit and Cambridge education, Griffin carried a suspended prison sentence for publishing racial material and his party has received funds from extreme racists in America.
As thousands of BNP voters flocked to the polls on Thursday, a black man of 34 was beaten up in broad daylight and bitten on the neck.
Ahmed is angry at the BNP's disruption of Oldham life, the rise in racial tension and the support it has won them at the ballot box. 'I was shocked at the extent of their support. It is setting back the work of Asians and whites trying to heal things in Oldham,' he said.
Ahmed is lucky to be alive. His house was petrol bombed 10 days ago, probably by white extremists. The bottle fell short of the window it had been flung at and set fire to the outside of the house. If it had broken through the glass the blaze would have trapped Ahmed and his family upstairs. 'They were trying to kill me. It was terrifying,' he said. 'We are still living through it every time we think about it.'