Police called to attempted theft and threatening behaviour with a knife on Formby streets last night

Merseyside Police can confirm that a 16 year-old male has been arrested on suspicion of affray following an incident on Larkhill Lane, Formby at around 8.40pm last night, Tuesday 31 May. They have only released brief details at the moment as their enquiries are ongoing.

One of the young men involved gave us an account of the incident, he said “Me and a few of my friends were walking down to Formby beach this afternoon along Victoria Road. We were followed by a group of boys of a similar age. We thought nothing of it until they began to get closer and closer. They then began to shout at us and before we knew it, they ran at us, shouting that they wanted the bikes (a few of us were on bikes). The people on bikes cycled off as fast as they could, but not before one was almost stabbed by one of the boys. Some of the boys chased the people on bikes and some of the people on foot. Fortunately, none of our group were harmed and the police were on the scene relatively quickly”

Another one of the group of boys and girls, who are from Formby, added “we were going to the beach for the sunset and a group of boys followed us with a knife and went after my friends because they had a bike they liked the look of...”

A local resident has expressed her concerns over the situation by saying “This happens too often in Formby because of the decent quality bikes.... Nobody should feel they can take what is NOT theirs through threats and intimidation. A young boy had his bike taken from him outside the chippy on Church Road....why should anyone think they can threaten someone to get what is NOT rightfully theirs???”

Anyone with any information can contact police on 101 or alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111