Colchester city centre attack: man has hand 'slashed' in North Hill

Six police cars and five ambulances were on the scene at the bottom of North Hill at about 10pm on Wednesday evening.

Paramedics could be seen taking one person into an ambulance on a stretcher whilst police officers extended a cordon more than 50 metres long from North Bridge to St Peter's Street.

Response - a police officer stands at a cordon in St Peter's Street (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest) Large patches of blood could be seen on the pavement outside Brunch and Globe Food and Wine, whilst officers searched a path by the side of the river.

One passerby, who did not wish to be named, told The Gazette the incident involved two victims and resulted in one man having his hand slashed.

She said: “We came out and heard shouting – one guy had his hand slashed.

Presence – police remained on the scene after ambulances had left (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest) “Two people have been attacked but we don’t know what over.”

The member of the public said one of the victims told them they were attacked by five people.

She said: “The guy said five people attacked him – we are not sure what over and we don’t know why.

Visible – officers on the scene at about 10.20pm on Wednesday (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest) “One man had scratches and a gashed hand – as far as we are aware, the ambulance crew was dealing with a guy who had been stabbed.”

When asked about her reaction to what she had seen, she replied: “I feel devastated for him – he’s clearly just been out walking.”

Treatment – medical teams were on the scene of the incident which is believed to have injured two people (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest) Emergency services started to disperse at about 10.20pm although several police cars and police officers have remained on the scene.

Essex Police and the East of England Ambulance Service have been contacted for comment.