A POPULAR community fair erupted in violence on Saturday evening when two police community support officers were assaulted as they tried to separate two heated groups.
A POPULAR community fair erupted in violence on Saturday evening when two police community support officers were assaulted as they tried to separate two heated groups.
Large-scale police reinforcements were quickly mobilised to Magdalen Square, Gorleston, after the incident in which one PCSO was pushed and another punched in the face.
Insp Teresa Eagleton said the fair, which had numerous stalls and sideshows, had opened at noon and there had been no trouble reported prior to the altercation at 5pm.
She said: “People had been drinking all afternoon in a local pub and then there was apparently a dispute between a group of local adults and a group of local youths.
“A police sergeant and the two PCSOs tried to get in between them and that was when the assaults happened.”
Local man Michael Latchford, 46, was arrested and later charged with two assaults on the PCSOs.
Insp Eagleton said police did not face any further trouble and the local pub and off-licence both closed at 9pm to help curb further problems.
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