A resident has described how she saw a man covered in blood in the aftermath of three suspected assaults in Chelmsford which left one person seriously injured.
Police were called to Kings Road in Melbourne at around 6pm yesterday evening following reports that a man had been attacked by two others at a property.
Ninety minutes later officers were called to three men fighting in West Avenue.
One man received a serious injury and is still receiving treatment in hospital.
A third incident occurred in nearby Cowell Avenue minutes later when a man reportedly assaulted a woman in her home.
Police cordoned off a section of West Avenue to collect evidence last night, and forensics officers could be seen this morning.
Today, residents of West Avenue described what they saw after the incident.
Lisa Davis, 19, said: "I ran back indoors because I have a little girl – I grabbed her and ran. It was quite a shock."
A 60-year-old resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "I heard some shouting and I was out the back. I thought it was shouting over the back fence.
"Then I came in to look at my dinner and some bloke was running down the road with some blood over him.
"I have been living here for four years and it's just the general kids [causing trouble] – but nothing down this end that has been really serious.
"Once I saw this bloke with blood, I thought 'no I'm not going out'."
She added: "I'm not worried about going out [now] – it's just one of things."
A third resident, who also did not want to be named, said: "We never had police around this place for that long before. We thought it was quite a safe place to live in but after yesterday's incident we are very wary."
A 45-year-old man of no fixed address was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and a 28-year-old man from Clacton was arrested on suspicion of actual bodily harm and theft.
Another resident told the Chronicle: "One guy had a gash in the back of his neck and he had his body covered in blood.
"I only saw the aftermath. I reckon it was half a dozen of one and half a dozen of the other."
Police said that the three incidents are being linked and they have appealed for any witnesses who have not yet spoken to police to come forward.
Anyone who can help should contact officers at Chelmsford CID on 101.
