POLICE have interviewed a 17-year-old Trowbridge man in connection with a violent assault in the town.

The teenager was arrested on Saturday after a man in his 30s was attacked with an iron bar in the Church Street area.

Police were inundated with calls from members of the public who saw the victim fending off an attacker just before 3pm.

The victim needed hospital treatment for head wounds sustained in the assault. A second man, aged 19, was also allegedly attacked by the bar-wielding youth.

Police officers from Trowbridge were scrambled to the incident, close to the Charcoal Grill takeaway, and spoke to the victim.

A gang of four youths were seen running off from the scene but two men later returned to a red Ford Escort, which was picked out by witnesses as belonging to the gang.

Two men were arrested and interviewed.

One man was released without charge while the 17-year-old was released on police bail until Thursday to allow for further inquiries.

A police spokesman said officers received numerous calls from worried members of the public.

He said: "Officers were told a gang of four pulled up in the identified car so officers waited for them to return then made the arrests. The injuries to the victim were not life threatening. The reports were initially of a man wielding an iron bar in Church Walk or Church Street."

Traders in Church Walk have spoken out about assaults and vandalism in the street.

Last March shop owners pleaded for CCTV security cameras to cover the street to stem the flow of smashed windows and drink-fuelled damage.

Last year a Dutch lorry driver suffered an injured eye after being assaulted in the street.

Police are still examining CCTV footage from a camera covering Duke Street and Church Walk, which includes the Charcoal Grill.