This is the shocking moment a masked man was seen wielding a huge 'machete' in the middle of Prestwich. The incident was captured on video by a dad on his way to pick his partner and children up from Prestwich Clough Day, which was being held less than half a mile away.
The man said he was driving along Rectory Lane - opposite Prestwich Metrolink station - on Sunday afternoon when he saw the man brandish the terrifying weapon.
He explained: "There was a Ford Focus parked up in the middle of the road and a lad hanging out of the window shouting. This other lad ran out of a car park with his hood up, a balaclava on, and a big machete in his hand.
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"They were both shouting at each other. One of them was saying 'come on then'. I couldn't believe what was happening and how brazen it was.
"The carnival was on so there were loads of kids about. It shocked me. There could've been anybody caught up in it."
The man said he reported the incident to police and had shared the footage with officers. In a statement, a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said they were called to reports of a man with a knife in Rectory Lane at about 4pm.
Officers attended, but no suspect or weapon was found. The incident is being investigated as affray, GMP said.
Inspector Gareth Edwards, of GMP's Bury district, said: "We are piecing together what happened and our enquiries are under way. There will be more patrols in the area over the next few days and we will be carrying out weapons sweeps in the green spaces."
Anyone with information or dashcam footage should contact police quoting incident 2069 of 22/5/2022. Information can also be reported online or by using the LiveChat function at www.gmp.police.uk. If you can't report online, call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
