A WARD councillor has described the mass scene of violence which took over a residential street as “worrying”.

Up to 40 men were involved in a brawl in Canterbury Avenue, Canterbury, Bradford, at about 7.10pm on September 26, which left one 31-year-old man with facial injuries.

A resident on the street said there was “commotion and shouting” in the street, and police were called to the fight but it dispersed before officers arrived on scene.

West Yorkshire Police said inquiries are ongoing into the “distressing” violence.

Councillor Taj Salam (Lab, Little Horton) said he had been made aware of the incident.

He said: “It was an unfortunate incident, this is normally quite a good neighbourhood.

“Things have improved in the last few years and it has a good relationship with police and youth services. A lot of positive work has gone into the area.”

Cllr Salam said it was worrying that many of the men involved appeared to be middle aged.

“We need to find out what caused it, and will be looking to see what else we can do to improve relationships in the neighbourhood,” he added.

One resident who saw the brawl said: “There were lots of people running up and down the street

“The shouting and commotion carried on for around 20 minutes and then stopped. There seemed to be a lot of older, middle aged people involved. I have no idea what it was about.”

West Yorkshire Police said it was believed the incident involved groups of people known to each other. Anyone with information about it should contact Bradford East NPT on 101.