'It's normally so peaceful here, I couldn't believe it when I opened the curtains this morning'

Residents in a usually 'peaceful' corner of north Manchester say they are waiting for life to return to normal following an evening of extreme violence.

Most days, Ardern Road's well-kempt hedges and neatly paved drives show off a quieter part of the city. This morning (November 7), residents told the Manchester Evening News it is rarely an area in which they struggle to sleep.

But on Wednesday evening (November 6), blue lights and emergency services disturbed the peace. Chaos graced the leafy street's usually neat gardens, as people vaulted over fences from house-to-house.

Police and ambulances swarmed the Crumpsall neighbourhood, and as morning broke, many woke to blue tape cordoning off their street and a blue forensics tent erected in the green gardens of some flats.

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One resident, who wishes not to be named, told the M.E.N how he was settling down to sleep when he realised that there was drama unfolding in the gardens of homes on Ardern Road. Looking out of his window, he recalls seeing people jumping over fences.

A couple of minutes later, he added, the place was "filled with police searching for something," he said.

Officers discovered that two young men had been stabbed. Both were quickly taken to hospital.

From the early hours of the morning, the investigations continued. Half a dozen officers were out along the roads in Crumpsall with long sticks as they rifled through piles of leaves, peered along gutters, and searched under parked cars.

On Saint Mary's Court Road, a blue tent loomed large in the gardens of flats. Detectives have been out in force, going door to door for information. And residents have been cautiously looking