Shocking scenes of daylight violence unfolded on Jackson Crescent in Hulme, Manchester, on Saturday 11 July, when two masked youths on electric scooters attacked a stationary car with knives while a terrified bystander watched and filmed from a nearby vehicle.

The confrontation happened at around 3pm, when the vehicle was stopped at traffic lights. The two assailants, dressed in black and wearing hoods, approached the car from both sides and began striking it with knives through the windows, catching the driver and passenger off guard.

Within seconds, however, the two men got out of the car and launched a counterattack, both wielding machetes. A brief but intense close-range struggle followed in the middle of the street, with both sides trading blows before the scooter riders fled the scene.

“Please, stop,” the eyewitness can be heard shouting as the fight escalates in the video, which has since circulated widely online. “Welcome to Britain, everyone’s got a knife,” he adds in disbelief.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP), the force covering the city, later confirmed that two people sustained serious injuries in the altercation. A large police presence was deployed that evening near the junction of Stretford Road and Chorlton Road, which local residents linked to the incident.

On Monday 13 July, GMP confirmed that a 22-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy had been arrested and remained in custody for questioning. Officers are continuing to seek three further individuals as part of the investigation.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact Greater Manchester Police.