Terrifying moment gang pulls out huge machetes during standoff in broad daylight in middle of UK city
THIS is the terrifying moment a fight explodes between machete-wielding gangs in the heart of a UK city.
The clip, filmed in Nottingham, shows a stand-off between two rival groups in broad daylight - both wielding the deadly weapons.
The 20-second clip shows three men holding machetes outside the Nottingham Contemporary art gallery.
Two of the men appear to be trying to fight the third man as people watch on panicked.
Machetes are raised and ready to slash, but none of the men swing them down or land a blow.
During the fight, a woman appears to yell at two of them and tries to get them to disperse.
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As the pair disperse, a close-up shows one of the men sheathing his machete before fleeing the scene.
A worker at the gallery who spoke to the BBC said he feared for his life.
"They were wielding knives at each other, and a lady tried to stop them.
"I'm scared that this can happen here. It was very scary."
Nottingham Police are investigating a fight between two groups with knives.
It said officers were called at 12.31pm on Wednesday 31 January to Weekday Cross in Nottingham city centre.
Police searched the area and couldn't find anyone and no injuries were reported.
Chief Inspector Karl Thomas, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “I have seen the footage of this incident and share the same sense of revulsion that other viewers will feel.
“Detectives are investigating what happened as a matter of urgency and are working at speed to identify all the young people involved.
“I urge anyone who recognises them to get in touch with as soon as possible. Although incidents of this nature are rare, we fully understand the concern they cause in the community.
“I want to reassure everybody about just how seriously we are treating this incident.
“We are working every day to remove weapons from our streets and also to educate young people about the dangers of carrying them.
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“Incidents of this nature underscore just how important that work is and why it is such a high priority for Nottinghamshire Police.”
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 101 quoting incident 292 of 31 January 2023.
Nottingham crime statistics
Nottingham is on the lower end of crime rates in similar cities with only 124.5 crimes per 1000 people that police recorded the year to June 2023.
But, data from police.uk reveals that its rate is higher compared to other cities for the posession of weapon offence.
Nottingham police recorded 2.33 weapon possession offences per 1000 people, similar to areas like Wolverhampton or Salford and much higher than Liverpool or Leicester.
In the more general violent crime category, Nottingham had 34.2 violent crimes per 1000 people in 2023 - similar to East London.
