'Machete attack' at Doncaster pub which left man in hospital was 'row over fruit machine'

Police are probing the attack at The Cumberland which saw a man suffer a wound to his neck after being slashed by another man.

A witness says the row was over a slot machine at the pub in Thorne Road.

The man, who has asked not to be named, said: “A young man was there with a family group having a meal and for some reason he was annoyed with someone regarding using the slot machine.

"He pulled out a machete type of knife and hit the person he was annoyed with across the back of the neck with it and then ran away.

“A number of people who were there came to help and even went outside looking for the person in question.”

Details of the incident on February 13 have only just emerged.

Yesterday, South Yorkshire Police issued details of the attack which officers say involved ‘a bladed weapon.’

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “We were called at about 6.30pm on Monday 13 February to reports of a wounding at the The Cumberland hotel on Thorne Road in Doncaster.

“Staff at the venue had alerted ourselves and Yorkshire Ambulance Service after a violent incident that had left a man with a one-inch cut to the back of his head, believed to have been caused by a bladed weapon.

“The victim, a man aged in his 20s, had been in a verbal altercation with another man at the venue before they moved outside to continue.

"The second man reportedly pulled out a bladed weapon and struck the victim to the back of the head, causing the wound.

"The attacker is then said to have left the venue, at which point the victim moved inside again to be helped by staff.

“The victim was then taken to hospital.”

“Officers attended the scene and an investigation remains ongoing.”

Anyone with information about the incident can contact South Yorkshire Police on 101 or alternatively, contact independent charity Crime Stoppers to report information in confidence on 0800 555 111.