Appeal for witnesses after man arrested with knife in Swindon

We are appealing for witnesses following an affray in Swindon on Friday evening (24/01), during which members of the public were threatened with a knife.

At around 6pm, a suspect – a man in his 50s – was seen walking down Faringdon Road waving a knife in the air and threatening a victim with the knife.

He has then gone to Reading Street and banged on the front door of an address, where a physical altercation has taken place between the suspect and the occupant of the address. The suspect has then threatened to kill the occupant of the address.

Officers attended the scene and a 58-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of a knife in a public place, threats to kill, affray and threats to commit criminal damage.

He has been bailed while enquiries continue.

Neighbourhood officer PC Huntington, based in Swindon, said: “We appreciate the significant amount of concern that this incident has had on local residents and please be reassured that we are taking it incredibly seriously.

“We are conducting high visibility patrols in the area and we are working with our partner agencies to address residents’ concerns and find a long term solution.

“We would appeal for anyone who witnessed the incident to please get in touch with us on 101 quoting reference 54250009726.”