Penwortham ‘melee’ in Liverpool Road broken up by police

The incident began outside the Spar shop in Penwortham Pic: Google

Two off-duty police officers broke up what has been described as a ‘melee’ in Penwortham during Tuesday afternoon.

Around 3.45pm in Liverpool Road a fight broke out between 12 people close to the Spar shop.

South Ribble Police say one of the group was armed with a baseball bat, another with a knife and another wielded a metal bar.

No one was hurt in the incident in which two teenagers were arrested.

A 17-year-old boy from Penwortham was arrested on suspicion of possession of a knife. A second 17-year-old from Chorley was arrested on suspicion of posession of an offensive weapon.

Police recovered a baseball bat near the scene.

A car chase then took place with a Citreon DS3, which police say was involved in the incident, pursued into Pope Lane.

The driver, a 21-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving.

A 19-year-old woman, from Preston, seen close to a Vauxhall Vectra, is also believed to be involved and has been arrested of assisting an offender.

Chief Inspector Steven Sansbury said: “I would like to reassure people that this incident has now concluded and we have made arrests thanks to the swift actions of our officers who were in the area.

“If you know anything about the incident or the people involved, please speak to us as soon as possible. If you see anything suspicious in the area, such as the weapons that may have been involved, please do not touch them but ring the police immediately.”

A Section 60 order has been put in force for Lower Penwortham and Broadgate in response to the incident.

You can call 101 quoting incident reference 915 of today (March 26th). Alternatively independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800555111.