Police officers have arrested a man on suspicion of assault after two men fought at Bolton Interchange on Friday night.

An officer working for Transport for Greater Manchester was assaulted while dealing with he incident.

Daniel Ward was waiting for a bus at Bolton Interchange when he witnessed the incident.

Speaking to The Bolton News, the 42-year-old from Swinton said: “It doesn’t bother me, it’s my son it concerns me about.

“All them lads knocking about in there are all his age, and there’s big groups of them and stuff – if one of them’s got a knife in their pocket, I’ve seen it happen before.”

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Daniel raised concerns over the response from security officers on the scene.

He said: “I worked on doors years back myself, I’ve seen it all happen in my time, but the way security works in there they just don’t… people shouldn’t be coming in thinking they can throw a punch.

“If it was me that was in charge of it, they wouldn’t be coming in throwing a punch or taking a chance to do anything like that, because you’d make sure it was dealt with by police.

“No one had control of any of it at all.”

Greater Manchester Police said it had made an arrest as a result of the incident, and is working with transport bosses to improve safety on the transport network.

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A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said: “On Friday (20/09/2024) at approximately 10:18pm, we supported the security team at Bolton Interchange bus station with responding to an incident.

“Officers arrested a 22-year-old man on suspicion of assault and escorted another man out of the transport hub.

“We’re working closely with our partners at Transport for Greater Manchester and increasing our visible police presence across the network to ensure members of the public feel safe and are safe while commuting by public transport.

“Violent or aggressive behaviour will not be tolerated, we encourage anyone with concerns to approach us or report suspicious activity to police on 101. In an emergency, always dial 999. “

Transport for Greater Manchester bosses say that, TravelSafe Support and Enforcement Officers responded quickly to an incident while patrolling Bolton Interchange.

While responding, one of the officers was assaulted, and assistance from Greater Manchester Police was requested shortly after.

 

Kate Green, TfGM’s TravelSafe Partnership Manager, said: “Our TSEOs do a brilliant job helping to keep people safe across the Bee Network. They work hard, sometimes in difficult and challenging situations, but they should not have to worry about being subjected to abuse or violence, as was the case on Friday.

 

"The TravelSafe Partnership takes a zero-tolerance approach crime and antisocial behaviour and are continuing to invest in additional TSEOs to provide a more reassuring and visible presence on the Bee Network.”

 

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.