From the http://www.dailymail.co.uk. By Daily Mail Reporter. 28 May 2008.

Five men stabbed after 'Wild West' bar brawl leaves pub 'looking like an abattoir'.

Two men are fighting for their lives and three others are recovering from knife wounds after a Wild West-style brawl left a pub looking like an 'abattoir'.

The Bank Holiday violence erupted in he "Bird In Hand" pub in Bromley, Kent, when two gangs of middle-aged men clashed in a row over drugs.

The fighting began when eight white men rushed into the bar of the modern pub at 6.30pm on Monday and attacked six men drinking there.

One group jumped over the bar and pushed the lone barmaid aside before going into the pub kitchen and grabbing chef's knives.

One witness described a scene of utter carnage as the two groups used knives, bar stools, pool cues and pint glasses to attack each other.

The frightened customer said: 'One moment it was pretty quiet and the next it was like something out of the Wild West.

'A group of about eight blokes came rushing through the door and it went off big style. There were fists flying and glasses being used.

'I saw one bloke hitting another with a broom over his head and others scrambling behind the bar. I could see some people with knives.

'They were stabbing at each other with these long knives. It was unbelievable. People were running away in panic, trying to get out the pub.'

Another witness said: 'My wife and I decided to leave after a group of men walked in and we could feel the tension building within the pub".'

The owners, who have young children and only took over the pub earlier this year, were upstairs when the stabbings occurred. They were told to lock their doors by frightened staff who escaped into the pub garden.

The incident - which comes just days after the murder of 18-year-old Harry Potter star Robert Knox in nearby Sidcup - lasted for five minutes.

An eyewitness reported how an innocent young couple fled for their lives and scrambled over a six foot fence to escape the mob violence.

'I saw this young couple who had just popped in for a pint sprinting out of the fire escape. They were petrified and ran to the pub garden,' he said.

'The door to the garden seemed to be locked so they climbed up and over the wall. It must have been six feet high but they were so scared they did it.

'People were cowering in corners or running into the garden to get away. The violence was horrific, like nothing I have ever seen.

'The two groups were trying to kill each other and they didn't mind who got in the way.'

Fighting continued in the pub's kitchen, which was left a bloody mess.

One person who saw the pub after the violence revealed: 'There was blood everywhere in the kitchen.

'There was pools of blood lying on the floor and streaks of it up all the wall. It looked like an abattoir. There was also bloody knives.

'The main bar was left a complete wreck. The floor was covered in glass and broken bar stools.

'All the optics behind the bar had been smashed - there was absolutely nothing left complete. The place had been effectively demolished inside.'

Two men suffered gaping abdominal wounds but managed to stagger out of the pub into its car park. They collapsed yards from each other.

An eyewitness said: 'They had horrific wounds to their stomachs. They were clutching themselves. A friend was pushing a coat over the wound to try and stem the blood.

'Another man - aged in his late thirties - was lying next to him bleeding heavily. He had a horrific stomach wound.

'Both of them were in a horrible way and were going in and out of consciousness. They were moaning and were obviously in agony.'

Five men were being treated for serious stab wounds at Farnborough Hospital and Queen Mary's Hospital last night. Two are in a critical condition.

Police and paramedics who rushed to the scene found a third man slumped by the side of the pub. He had suffered multiple stab wounds.

There were about 25 customers in the pub when the trouble started. Normally, it would be crowded with young families eating in the restaurant. But the torrential rain and winds had kept customers away on what would normally be one of the busiest days of the year.

Police are working on the theory that the battle was a result of a turf war over drugs. A number of the suspects have convictions for drug offences.