A FOURTH arrest has been made by police conducting an attempted murder investigation.

A 26-year-old man from Poole is the third person to be arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following an incident in Sea View Road, Parkstone on Monday evening.

Two men aged 25 and 21 from the town have already been arrested.

The older of the two men has been released on police bail until late October pending further enquiries, while a fourth man, aged 20 and from Poole, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

He has also been bailed until October.

Police mounted a major response involving armed officers and dog handlers on Monday evening following the violent incident.

The drama began at around 5.30pm on Monday after reports of a robbery.

Two men were taken to Poole Hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.

A 67-year-old man who lives in the road told yesterday how he witnessed the aftermath of the incident.

“Paramedics brought out a man with blood on his head and down his face.

“He was walked to the ambulance by paramedics and looked in a state of shock,” he said.

Police described the events in Sea View Road as a “very serious incident”.

They later sealed off an address in nearby Cranbrook Road where dog handlers were sent in, while the police helicopter helped search the area.

The cordon was lifted later that evening but a search continued.