Police find machete, axe, hammer and knife after ‘100 antisocial youths’ dispersed from Broadfield Park

Broadfield Park

Police found a bag containing weapons after 100 antisocial youths were dispersed from Broadfield Park on Sunday (12 February).

After two reports of antisocial behaviour in the park on 9 February and 12 February, police have today (Friday 17 February) put a section 60 stop and search order in place until 10.30pm.

The order stretches from Rochdale town centre to Town Head down to Castleton, Kirkholt and Balderstone, Heywood including Hopwood and Crimble, Newbold and Belfield into Milnrow.

A co-ordinated response was put in place after the first two reports, involving officers from Specialist Operations and response officers from Rochdale district and the groups were successfully dispersed.

Following a search of the area afterwards, a bag was found containing weapons including a machete, axe, hammer and a knife which have all been seized pending forensic recovery.

Inspector John Cesarz of GMP’s Rochdale district said: “From our investigation so far, we understand that a lot of those involved were young and could have easily been drawn in by what was going on, but please be assured that anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated in our communities.

“These measures have been put in place to prevent any further violence and keep the public safe from harm. This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated and needs to be stopped before someone is seriously hurt.

“We have planned extra police resources to provide visible reassurance over this weekend to members of the community, alongside extra patrols from our partner agencies.

"If you or anyone you know may have seen anything that could help with our enquiries or have CCTV or Dash Cam footage of the area at the time, please get in touch with police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.

"Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111."