Booze-fuelled mass brawl erupts outside trendy restaurants
WOMAN KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS AS THUGS HURL TABLES AND CHAIRS SET OUT BY BARS IN FASHIONABLE PEDESTRIANISED STREET
THERE were shocking scenes during a mass brawl outside a row of bars and restaurants.
The violence erupted on Blossom Street, Ancoats, which has been temporarily pedestrianised and has tables and chairs set out to allow people to enjoy bars and restaurants while complying with lockdown rules.
A video shared with the M.E.N. shows men punching and kicking each other and even using the street furniture as weapons on Saturday night.
A young woman caught in the middle of the fight was knocked unconscious.
She lay motionless on the ground for several minutes and was tended to by onlookers before police arrived and she managed to sit up again.
It is understood the woman was left bruised and shaken but did not suffer any serious injury.
Residents in Ancoats say there has been a sharp increase in alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour in recent months.
In May, the M.E.N. reported on complaints that large groups of people were gathering in Cutting Room Square and ignoring social distancing guidelines.
Locals in surrounding apartments have complained of late-night noise, people urinating in doorways and large amounts of litter being left, as well as fights.
Blossom Street was one of several city centre roads to have been temporarily closed to cars in a bid to help bars and restaurants reopen and have customers sitting outside.
It has generally been regarded as a
It’s just becoming a notoriously unsafe place to live. Lots of residents are thinking of moving Ancoats resident
success, but residents say the atmosphere has too often turned nasty on weekend evenings.
“It’s a shame because the pedestrianised zone is so nice in the late morning - mid-afternoon, but then as people get more drunk it’s just chaos,” one said. “People just get so drunk and disrespectful. Up until recently we have loved living here but now we can’t open our windows at night because it’s so loud. If you go into our communal gardens at night it sounds like we’re outside the smoking area of a club.
“It’s also clear people aren’t social distancing and as it gets later it gets really aggressive.
“On the night the video was taken at least two other smaller fights broke out, in the incident videoed a bystander was knocked unconscious whilst just out having a drink with friends. It’s just becoming a notoriously unsafe place to live. Lots of residents are thinking of moving away from the area due to the change in atmosphere.
“I think residents have different thoughts and feelings about why there has been a change - whether it’s the pedestrianised zones, or the set-up of the square itself, or that generally more aggressive anti-social people are being drawn to the square now.”
Coun Angeliki Stogia, Executive Member for Environment, Planning and Transport, said: “Manchester’s vibrant and diverse retail and hospitality sector not only plays a pivotal role in the cultural heartbeat of our city, it also makes an enormous contribution to our economy as it employs many local people. It’s also a cornerstone of contemporary Mancunian life.”
It is understood council officers and police are aware of the issues in Ancoats but believe the primary issue is people bringing their own alcohol to Cutting Square Room rather than licensed premises.