Two men were taken to hospital and eight were arrested after gang warfare broke out in St. David's last night.

Males brandishing "blunt instruments and bladed articles" fought with one another on the roundabout close to Clearwater Beach, according to Police, with the violence understood to have eventually ended up at St. David's Cricket Club.

The brawl started shortly before 8 p.m. and a Police spokesman said late last night that more arrests were expected.

He told The Royal Gazette: "Police responded to a report of a disturbance that took place on the roundabout before Clearwater Beach in St. David's, in St. George's.

"When Police arrived it came to their attention that a large group of males got involved in an altercation.

"They were using blunt instruments and bladed articles to inflict damage to each other.

"As a result, two men were taken to the hospital with non life-threatening facial and neck injuries. So far, eight men have been arrested and are in custody, assisting Police."

Sources told this newspaper that the fighting on Cooper's Island Road involved the Parkside, 42nd Street, St. George's and Hamilton Parish gangs.

One source said: "They were armed with all sorts of weapons: machetes, knives, baseball bats and the like. There was obviously some long-standing issues between Parkside and 42nd Street. This has been a battle going on for quite some time now."

They added: "People were jumping into the sea to avoid those guys attacking them. It got so out of hand. The Police came and the guys jumped on their vehicles and headed to St. David's Cricket Club. When they got there, it continued."

A witness attending a motocross event at Southside reported seeing between 50 and 100 men fighting, describing how they leapt into cars and on bikes to flee when Police arrived.

A staff member at Gombeys Restaurant and Bar, at Clearwater Beach, who would not give her name, told this restaurant she called Police after a customer told her there were people fighting outside.

"It didn't happen round here," she said. "It happened at the roundabout before you get to Clearwater. They said it was a whole bunch of guys in white T-shirts fighting. We don't even know what happened.

"I called it in and told the Police to come right away because I don't want it to end up here."

A local resident said the road into St. David's was blocked off by Police. He said: "Apparently, it was the town guys who came down."

Another source claimed the scuffle may have been in retaliation for an incident in the same area the week before.

No one could be contacted for comment at St. David's Cricket Club.