Machete, knife and sword wielding youths spark public order incident in Sholing

Officers say the incident took place last night in Sholing.

Now officers have activated stop and search powers in a large area of the city.

Officers in Southampton will be able to stop and search anyone in the area of Sholing, Thornhill and Weston tonight.

Police say the orders can be implemented in areas where either serious violence has occurred or police believe serious violence is about to occur.

It gives officers the power to stop and search anyone in a designated location, looking for offensive weapons or bladed articles.

Officers patrolling the area are able to stop and search anyone while Section 60 is in use.

The threshold to implement a Section 60 power is very high and we have it as a tactic to keep communities safe.

This power has been implemented following an incident of serious violence in the area that happened recently.

Officers say it comes after they were called to the scene of a large scale disorder incident last night.

The incident, which involved a group of youths, took place at approximately 8.30pm on Montague Avenue and Sullivan Road.

Officers attended the area and conducted a search and recovered a knife, a sword and a machete.

As a result, officers patrolling the area defined in the map will be able to stop and search anyone in the area between 4pm tonight and 3am tomorrow (Sept 28).

A Section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1984 has also been put in place for the same area.

This will mean police will have the power to demand people remove any face coverings.

District Commander for Southampton, Superintendent Kelly Whiting said: “Following concerns raised by residents yesterday evening, this is our response.

"Violent crime will not be tolerated and those found to be carrying weapons or involved in violence will be dealt with robustly.

“If you live in this area and are concerned about this, or you witnessed this incident, please speak to us.”