Police called to machete violence after a football match had a lucky escape when their car veered off the road and smashed into a wall protecting a 50-foot drop.

The patrol vehicle is believed to have been pursuing two suspects on motorbikes armed with machetes when the accident happened last night, near the junction of Palmetto Road and Marsh Folly Road.

During the chase, the eastbound marked car careered into a wall on the opposite side of the road ? smashing a 20-foot gap in the stone barrier.

Fortunately for the two officers inside the vehicle, their car did not drop 50 feet down the embankment. Instead, it apparently bounced off the wall and spun around in the opposite direction before stopping on a nearby pavement.

The front of the Mitsubishi car was badly damaged and part of its front bumper was left in the road. But the two officers inside the vehicle did not appear to be injured in the crash, officers at the scene told .

Police spokesman Dwayne Caines said last night: ?There was a 50-foot drop on the other side of the wall. It?s safe to say these officers narrowly avoided a very dangerous situation.?

The drama started when Police received multiple reports of men brandishing machetes in the Bernard Park area of Pembroke.

The patrol car crashed after a potentially violent altercation involving armed thugs and a group of revellers was thwarted. Officers swooped on the scene following several calls from concerned members of the public.

Just after 6 p.m., eye-witnesses reported that six men armed with machetes and hammers set upon a Paget Community Club (PCC) motorcade ? celebrating a maiden First Division football championship ? in a parking lot next to the Tennis Stadium at Bernard Park.

Though many witnesses were shaken, sources said no one was injured as Police arrived before trouble flared any further. They said the culprits fled on foot on a dimly-lit section of Marsh Folly Road leading to St. John?s Cemetery.

?All I can recall was people dashing and shouting ?these town boys are coming down here with machetes and stuff?,? one source told . ?There was no altercation or anything like that and I don?t think anybody was harmed.

?Before anything really got started the culprits ran off towards the Tennis Stadium because the Police arrived so quick.

?Six guys came to ruin the party but thank God nothing happened.?

It is understood Paget?s victorious motorcade showed up at Bernard Park to join festivities with Premier Division champions North Village, also celebrating winning a seventh overall league championship yesterday.

North Village Community Club (NVCC) president Shervin Dill declined to comment last night as the incident did not take place on his club?s premises.

Police spokesman Mr. Caines confirmed a small group of men arrived Bernard Park brandishing weapons.

?Police responded to multiple reports of men brandishing weapons at Bernard Park,? he said. ?And as a result officers were dispatched immediately to Bernard Park and this resulted in the suspects making good their escape.?

Yesterday?s incident comes after last October?s outbreak of violence at Southampton Oval. That left several men in hospital with machete-inflicted wounds after they were set upon by armed thugs following a Premier Division match between PHC Zebras and Somerset Trojans.

Police last night confirmed they had launched investigations into both the crash and the machete disturbance.

Anyone with information about the single vehicle Police car crash, which happened at about 6.30 p.m. last night, should call Sgt. Minton Gilbert on 2341010. Witnesses to the Bernard Park flash point should phone 295-0011.