Eyewitnesses tell of shock attack on girl by balaclava-clad men on Penwortham street this afternoon

Eyewitnesses have spoken of the terror on the streets of Penwortham this afternoon.
Police at the scenePolice at the scene
Police at the scene

Police arrested two people and recovered a knife and a baseball bat after an incident in the Liverpool Road area this afternoon.

Eyewitness Emma Roberts, MD of Roberts and Co Sales and Lettings, Liverpool Road, said: "We did see it. A little bit happened outside our shop and it went further down the road.

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"Essentially two men or teenagers with balaclavas - one had a machete, one had a baseball bat.

"My colleague saw the one with the baseball bat, we think assaulted a girl.

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Police arrest two people and recover knife and baseball bat

"Then they ran off in the direction of the Fleece car park.

"They ended up where the old Lloyds Bank is then the police arrived and apprehended them."

Police at the scenePolice at the scene
Police at the scene
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She continued: "There was lots of police, lots of schoolchildren around - lots of screaming. It wasn't very nice at all."

She said she rang the police.

"I did ask the police officer if anybody had been hurt with the girl being assaulted."

She said she understood the girl ran off after the incident.

Police at the scene on Liverpool Road in PenworthamPolice at the scene on Liverpool Road in Penwortham
Police at the scene on Liverpool Road in Penwortham

The businesswoman said people were shocked, especially as there were schoolchildren in the area at the time.

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"The staff were very shocked and initially worried about the children," she said. "Our first thoughts were concerns for the safety of the children."

She said she and other witnesses passed on their information to the police.

Samantha Eastham, of Naughty Nails Tanning and Beauty in Hawksbury Drive, Penwortham, was astonished to see a suspect run right through her shop.

Officers holding traffic on Cop LaneOfficers holding traffic on Cop Lane
Officers holding traffic on Cop Lane

She said she saw a young man jump out of a white car outside the shop at around 4.30pm. He then hurtled into the shop.

He kept going and went straight out the back.

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She said: "I shouted at him and ran after him. He went right through the ktichen and kept going.

"I was right behind him. I've no idea what I would have done if I had caught him.

"The police came soon afterwards and caught him."