SHOCKED and bleeding, a young man is given emergency first aid by police officers after becoming the latest victim of city centre violence.
But this was not the result of a late night punch up between lager louts... the incident came as dozens of afternoon shoppers looked on in horror.
The man was reportedly stabbed out-side a Chester department store after a squabble went too far.
Two men were arrested and three sections of Eastgate Street were cordoned off at 4.30pm on Monday following the attack, which left two men with facial injuries.
The incident was spotted by staff monitoring the city's CCTV system. They directed police to the scene.
Shopkeepers on Eastgate Rows stared as the men fought, blood streaming down their faces.
An eyewitness claimed one man was armed with a stanley knife and chain, the other with what appeared to be a snooker ball in a sock.
He said baton-wielding police officers gave chase, successfully apprehending the two men and telling them to drop their weapons.
Passers-by stopped to stare at the blood-stained pavement on Eastgate Street where one man was attended by police and ambulance workers.
An eyewitness, who did not wish to be named, said he could hear the men squabbling in the street.
'There was a big argument going on, plenty of bad language. I mainly heard the policeman trying to calm the guy down.
'All credit to the policeman, he tried to assist the guy and clean him up. He did a pretty good job.'
He added: 'There was a bit of a knife attack. One lad had a gash on his arm. The main thing he seemed interested in was getting his friends to get him a fag.'
Police spokesman Jon Ratcliffe said: 'Two men were injured. One was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital and the other to Wrexham Maelor. They were both arrested.'
