Preston machete street fight caught on camera day before Ashton double stabbing

The men were filmed wielding the blades in Stocks Road, off Tulketh Brow in Ashton, on Thursday (April 13) – just 24 hours before Friday’s double stabbing in Shelley Road.

The fight happened in broad daylight during the afternoon near Tulketh Chippy and just around the corner from the Shelley Road stabbings.

It kicked off with the pair swinging baseball bats at each other in an alley, said one resident, before the scuffle spilled over into the street causing a scene.

It soon escalated when one of the men ditched his bat and returned with a large knife or machete.

The other man swapped his bat for a blade and the pair began sparring in the street, though neither man landed a blow.

The scrap reportedly fizzled out when a third man came between them and the pair resorted to throwing bins at each other.

A police spokesman said: “We were called to Stocks Road, Preston, at 4.37pm on April 13, to reports of a disturbance in the street.

“Enquiries are continuing. No arrests have been made.”

"These lads wanted blood”, says local resident

“It happens a lot round here, there’s always something,” said one worried resident who asked not to be named.

“Ashton is getting worse. There’s more balaclavas than faces these days.

"And these lads wanted blood. It carried on later that night, they were arguing and calling the guy with a machete a ‘grass’.

"It doesn’t help when the council house them together straight from prison and expect them not to fall out, especially when drugs are involved.

"It’s all to do with drugs. There are so many dealers around here now and they do it in plain sight.

"The other day they were chasing a guy in a car through the alley and jumping out with knives!”