BOURNEMOUTH – Five people have been rushed to hospital – including one with serious injuries – following a ‘mass brawl’ outside a college in Bournemouth.
Police say they have arrested a number of people in connection with the incident, which took place on the town’s Meyrick Road at around 2.46pm.
Armed police were deployed to the scene after reports of a number of injuries – with one person said to have suffered ‘serious, but not life-threatening’ injuries. A sixth person is understood to have been treated at the scene and discharged.
The incident happened close to Bournemouth and Poole College’s campus on Meyrick Road; the college says it did not take place on its grounds.
Statement From Police
Dorset Police said two people have been arrested on suspicion of wounding with intent, while a third person has been arrested on suspicion of assault by beating.
Witnesses said two groups of around 20 people came together in the town centre in a ‘free-for-all’ fracas.
Unconfirmed reports from eyewitnesses suggested some of those involved in the altercation may have been stabbed; Dorset Police has not commented on the nature of the injuries suffered.
A cordon was established at the scene, outside the Roundhouse Hotel, as officers carried out investigation work. The force says it has now progressed to an ‘investigative phrase’.
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It was a Mass Brawl
A woman who witnessed the part of the incident said: ‘I suddenly saw this mass brawl.
‘There were 10 on each side and they were fighting. I think they were two groups of college students.
‘I saw one of them lifting another boy’s shirt up to check if he had been hurt.’
Henry Tootal, a 20-year-old student said: ‘We saw all the police cars and three people being taken out on stretchers.’
A parent who was outside the college to collect their son said: ‘It was like a free-for-all brawl in the road. Never seen scenes like it.’
