A QUIET Bournemouth neighbourhood became a crime scene after an assault in which witnesses said a man was slashed across the face.

Maxwell Road, Winton, was shut by police for over two hours after police received a 999 call about the incident at 11.46am on Saturday.

Onlookers, including Richard Handyside, noticed two men having a row.

Mr Handyside said: “They were not ranting and raving.

“One punched the other in the face, and in retaliation he went to his car, got a knife out and slashed the guy across the face.

“Then he ran off towards Charminster Road.

“The injured man stumbled into one of the houses. There was a lot of blood everywhere, and even more in the house too.”

At 3pm two police officers were still guarding the house.

Police say the victim and the alleged attacker knew each other but are not connected with any address in Maxwell Road.

The incident happened opposite Winton Recreation Ground, where children were playing.

A police spokesman said: “The victim is in hospital. The injuries are not life- threatening, but quite nasty.”

The spokesman added that the men knew each other but this was not a case of somebody “running around hurting people”.

Another resident was working in his front garden at the time. “I did not hear anything at first,” he said. “It must have been a very quiet argument.”

No arrests had been made as the Daily Echo went to press.