FOUR men have been arrested following a "disturbance" in St Helens yesterday (Tuesday, June 14).

Police were called to an incident at around 1pm yesterday afternoon, after reports a group of men were in possession of knives around Cambridge Road.

As police arrived at the scene, the men made off on foot across Bishop Road.

Following a short foot chase, officers detained and arrested four men, aged 29, 26, 22 and 27, from Liverpool, Eccleston, and St Helens.

The men were arrested on suspicion of affray and possession of an offensive weapon. 

Following further searches of the area, officers recovered a machete on Windleshaw Road. 

The four men arrested were questioned by police and have now been released under investigation pending further enquiries. 

No injuries were reported during the incident, and CCTV and witness enquiries into the incident are currently ongoing.

St Helens Community Policing Inspector Jon Smith said: “This would have been a shocking incident for anyone to witness yesterday and we would like to thank the community for alerting us so that four men could be arrested quickly before anyone was injured – or worse.

“These arrests show that we will not stand by and allow people to carry knives and threaten the safety of themselves and others. Our officers also recovered a weapon which can now no longer be used to cause fear and harm on our streets. 

“Our message to those who might think about carrying a knife is clear: It is just not worth the risk. Every day we are out on patrols, conducting stop searches, executing warrants, putting every effort into arresting offenders and putting them before the courts.”

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact @MerPolCC on Twitter or ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook with reference 22000411157. 

You can also call Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111,