New Hall Lane close to the junction of Salisbury Street where the incident happened Pic: Google

Violence erupted in New Hall Lane on Thursday with reports of two groups of men fighting.

Traffic was stopped during the afternoon when four men abandoned a car in the middle of the road.

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The men, who left the vehicle with weapons, started fighting with another group of men in the street.

A black Volkswagen Golf was left in New Hall Lane, close to Salisbury Street, while the fight took place.

The gang returned to the car and made off in the direction of the M6 around 3.15pm on Thursday (15 September).

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Lancashire Police later stopped the car in the Preston New Road area of Blackburn, and four men were arrested.

Detective Sergeant Oliver Jemson, of Preston CID, said: “We are appealing for witnesses following reports of groups fighting in Preston.

“Around 3.15pm yesterday we received a number of calls from residents reporting an altercation in New Hall Lane.

“Two groups of men are believed to have started fighting in the street. While we have made four arrests, we remain in the early stages of our investigation and are particularly keen to speak to anyone with any information.

“New Hall Lane is one of Preston’s busiest roads and I believe a number of pedestrians and motorists will have seen what happened.”

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Four men aged 20, 23, 24 and 26, all from Preston, were arrested on suspicion of affray and are in custody.

Anyone with information can contact police on 101 quoting log reference 0879 of September 15.

Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org.