A YOUNG man was stabbed in the early hours of yesterday after a fight at a house party in Broadgreen spilled out onto the streets.

Police were called to the brawl in Broad Street just after midnight, where they found six men and one young woman – aged between 17 and 20 – who had all been injured.

The Wiltshire Police helicopter was called to the scene amid reports of balaclava-clad men assaulting people with knives.

A man thought to be Chris Price, who is in his late teens, from Ferndale Road, was rushed to hospital with a stab wound to the stomach. He is believed to have undergone a lengthy lifesaving operation but was thought to be a stable condition last night.

It is believed the fight was sparked after a group of five men tried to gatecrash a party at a shared house in Broad Street.

A friend of the Price family said: “Chris’s injuries were life threatening to the extent that he had a four-and-a-half hour operation during the night and nearly died “The next 24 hours are crucial to his recovery. Chris is at present in GWH recovering from surgery, and is very poorly.

“As you can appreciate the family are very distressed at the moment and are at Chris’s bedside.”

Detective Inspector Lindsey Winter, who is leading the investigation, said: “This was a very nasty and serious incident and my thoughts are with the victims and their families as this must have been a frightening experience.

“Of great concern is the fact that a knife and a baseball bat type weapon appears to have been used, and at this stage one knife and a baseball bat have been recovered.

“Any violence is unacceptable but when any weapon and especially knives are involved it is of great concern to us all.

“Yesterday was the opening of the Broadgreen Community Fun Day, which was very well supported and properly reflected the great sense of community within this area of Swindon. Broadgreen has a diverse and vibrant population, which is representative of all the good things in Swindon and whilst we are at an early stage in the investigation, I am not aware of any suggestion that Saturday night’s violence has any racial overtones.”

Police cordoned off several roads, including Manchester Road, to carry out investigations and last night Broad Street was still closed.

Anyone with information is asked to call 0845 4087000 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

Eight local men, all aged between 17 and 20, have been arrested and were in custody at Gablecross police station.

'It's just another bad day for us'

BROAD Street was eerily quiet as residents reflected on another bad day for the area.

“People will just get on with things, that’s the way we are,” said one resident, who did not wish to be named.

“We will help the police with their enquiries but otherwise everyone will keep themselves to themselves.”

Curtains twitched along Graham Street as the Adver sought to get residents’ reaction, but few people were willing to talk.

“You will use our name to say bad things about Broadgreen,“ said a local shopkeeper.

“These things happen in lots of places but Broadgreen has been given a reputation based on just bad things.”

But other residents were keen to talk about other problems in the area.

One man, who has lived in Graham Street for four years, said: “There are problems every day with kids taking drugs and making trouble. If you say anything they throw a brick at your window but the police do nothing.

“Now there is this trouble and they are everywhere. If they were here every day maybe there wouldn’t be trouble.”

Another man said: “I heard shouting and glass breaking but I didn’t go out. I thought it was just a normal Saturday night fight.”