DETECTIVES have launched an appeal for witnesses after clashes between Asian and white gangs left three people with knife wounds.

The weekend brawl, which is believed to have started on a Metrolink tram, spilled over on to the platform at Bury Interchange and up the stairs to the main concourse.

Two white men and a girl were treated in hospital for stab wounds but all were later released.

Now, police want to talk to anyone who witnessed the fracas last Saturday, November 29, at 11.20pm.

Police believe more than a dozen people were involved in the violent scenes.

Det Sgt Mick Baker, of Bury police crime management unit, said: "We urge anyone out there, who had been on the tram or who saw anything on the platform and the Interchange, to come forward.

"Early indications are that these youths had travelled from Manchester by Metrolink to Bury when the trouble broke out."

Officers want to determine if the violence began on the tram and if so, what sparked the trouble.

A 16-year-old girl from Bury and a Whitefield youth aged 18 were treated in Bury General Hospital for knife wounds. And a 27 year-old Heywood man who took a taxi from Bury to his home later discovered he had been stabbed in the buttocks.

He too was treated in hospital before being discharged.

Detectives are certain other passengers who got off the train at 11.20pm could hold vital clues.

No arrests were made at the scene. It is not known whether there was one knifeman or more.

Anyone with information is asked to ring Bury police crime management unit on 856 8157 or freephone CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111.

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