Terrified passers-by see two men fighting with machete just yards away from Knife Angel statue in Northampton

Horrified passers-by saw two men fighting with a machete at lunchtime in Northampton town centre — less than 200 yards from the Knife Angel statue.

Detectives are appealing for witnesses following the incident at the junction of St Peter’s Way and Mare Fair between 12.10pm and 12.30pm on Friday (May 6).

A 27-year-old male quizzed in connection with the incident has since been released under investigation pending further enquiries.

A Northamptonshire Police spokesman said: “Two males were seen fighting in the street, one of them armed with a machete.

“The suspect with the machete is described as a black man in his late 20s, about 5ft 9in and slim with short, dreadlocks. He had a small amount of facial hair and wore a light grey tracksuit, black trainers, a grey and black chequered bucket hat, and a blue rucksack with a white panel in the middle.”

Witnesses or anyone with information should call the non-emergency police number 101 using incident number 22000257557.

The iconic 27ft tall Knife Angel sculpture has stood outside All Saints’ Church in the town centre since April 29.

It was created from 100,000 blades and weapons from England and Wales police forces which had been seized or handed in as part of knife amnesties as a national monument against violence and aggression made.

Northamptonshire Police recently revealed figures showing the number of recorded knife crime incidents resulting in serious harm fell from 718 to 659 in the 12 months between April 2021 and March 2022.