Six men have been arrested after a fight involving rival gangs armed with weapons broke out at a road junction.

A 37-year-old man suffered a serious leg injury after being hit by a car during the incident outside the Hare and Hounds pub between Burnley Road, Blackburn Road and Whalley Road in Clayton-le-Moors.

He was taken to Royal Preston Hospital where he remains in a ‘serious but stable condition’.

Police said the incident at 9.20pm on Thursday, June 8, appeared to involve a confrontation between two groups who got out of their cars and ‘commenced fighting in the street with weapons’.

Six have been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and four cars - a black BMW, a black Renault Megane, a blue Volkswagen Golf, and a blue Mercedes C220 – have all been seized as part of the investigation.

BMW abandoned in Great Harwood following collision in Clayton-le-Moors

Detectives said they do not believe the gang attack is related to the shooting at a house door on Richmond Road in Accrington earlier this week.

DCI Jill Johnstone, from the East CID, said: “We do not believe that this is linked to the firearm discharge in Accrington earlier this week, however we are aware of recent ongoing issues in the Hyndburn area between rival gangs and we are working to tackle it.

“These are isolated incidents between people who are known to each other and there isn’t thought to be any threat to the wider public, but residents will see an increased police presence in the area which we hope will provide some reassurance.

“If you any information about this incident, please come forward and speak to us, your help and support is extremely important to us and any information you know could be vital to the investigation.”

The North West Ambulance Service confirmed they were called to the scene at 9.18pm.

A spokesperson said: “We were called to reports of a road traffic collision. We sent a rapid response vehicle and an ambulance to the scene.

“We took a patient to hospital with reports of injury to his leg.”

Clayton-le-Moors councillor Tim O'Kane said it was a 'horrific' incident.

He said: “It's absolutely deplorable that something like this has happened in Clayton-le-Moors.

“I heard about it 15 minutes after it happened and I was only sat about 200m away from where the incident took place.

“We are so grateful for the police protection that we do get to counter this but it's obvious that the large numbers being cut is not helping the situation.”

Hyndburn council leader Miles Parkinson, who lives in Clayton-le-Moors, was on the way to the general election result when the incident occurred and had to be diverted.

He said he was "deeply concerned about events occurring over the last fortnight in the borough of Hyndburn".

Coun Parkinson said: "I'm concerned about YouTube videos in relation to a previous incident (in Church) involving machetes, we've had a gun shot in Accrington and now this incident.

“I'm deeply concerned and want to be assured by the police that they have the ability to deal with the incidents that seem to be occurring in the borough.

“These are deeply concerning for the residents and we must enforce the rule of law and been seen to protect the public.

“These incidents are unrelated to terrorism but everyone is very concerned when they see someone running down the street with a machete or people fighting or brawling, or if we have some sort of gang inter-related issues.

“I will be speaking to the Chief Superintendent and the police and crime commissioner Clive Grunshaw because the number one issue for the public is law enforcement.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting incident reference 1474 of June 8. Alternatively independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org