Five teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of robbery following an altercation in Stevenage Old Town yesterday.

The altercation began outside Simmons Bakery and McColl’s newsagents in High Street at around 10pm, and continued down towards Letchmore Road and Church Lane. Some of the boys were on bikes at the time.

Several members of the public intervened and gave chase to one of the suspects, who they apprehended.

A 16-year-old boy sustained wounds to his back and has received hospital treatment. He has since been discharged.

Detectives from the town’s local crime unit are now appealing for anyone who was in the area at the time and saw the incident to contact them.

Det Sgt Faye Tooley said: “We know there were lots of people in the High Street at the time – some of whom intervened and have already given statements to us.

“However, we know there were lots of people on the other side of the road near the Mulberry Tree pub who were watching the scene unfold.

“We urgently need to speak to those people, as they will have information which could be critical for our investigation.”

The five boys are all from Stevenage – four are aged 15 and one is 14. All have been released under investigation.

Anyone who has any other information about the incident is asked to contact the Stevenage Local Crime Unit via the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 41/15849/19. You can also report information online at www.herts.police.uk/Report.

Alternatively, you can stay anonymous by contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.