Community left shocked after serious assaults leave three hospitalised in Harrogate

Four men were discovered with injuries including stab, cuts and knife wounds on Friday, October 20 by North Yorkshire Police after being called out at 11.30pm. One incident had occurred at Unity Grove and a second close to the Bilton Working Men's Club.

Although now re-opened residents awoke to find Unity Grove closed as officers investigated the scene, it has left some questioning their safety working in the area.

Francis Cunningham said: "From my point of view, and this is just looking at it as a safety issue more than anything, we work here 24 hours a day, some of us coming here to work in the dark. That is the main reason we are concerned and a little shocked over what has happened.

"In the area we are getting people who are released from prison back into the community, and some of them do have mental health issues. This gets mixed with drink and drugs and we know that it's a problem."

The news has left many angry, increasingly frustrated at what they see is an ongoing issue with drug use in the nearby area.

Adam Wilkins said: "When we arrived (On Saturday morning) we were just told that we couldn't open up and we were waiting for a few hours. It's happened because something is obviously a problem in the area and we experience it regularly. It's drug related for one, the people are always coming in here causing problems and they all live together.

"I have heard that this has happened after three lads who came up from Leeds and they just said we live here now at the their house."

He added: "We are fuming that this kind of thing keeps going on, you could just see something like this was going happen. It isn't surprising, we are here working 50 hours a week and know what is like. "

One resident on Skipton road spoke to the Advertiser anonymously, describing her shock at opening her door on the morning after the incident to find the area full of officers.

They said: "I just stepped out into the road in the morning and realised I was in a crime scene.

"It is surprising, this is Harrogate after all, but I do remember when there was an axe attack around 18 months ago. I would have thought that the police would have knocked door to door but they didn't tell us what was going on."

Officers remain parked outside one residential property on Skipton Road which remains taped off.

Police were first called to Skipton Road where two men were discovered, one who had a substance sprayed into their eyes and another with knife wounds.

A connection has been made between this and the assault on Unity Grove which was called in 10 minutes after this. Two additional men were found, one had been stabbed and the second had cuts and other superficial injuries.

With the exception of the man sprayed with a substance all were hospitalised but their injuries are believed to not be life threatening.

Two people,a man and a woman, in their forties have been arrested in connection with the incident and remain in police custody. Police however believe this was a targeted incident and the wider community was not at risk.