THREE men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following a machete attack in Worcester.

A 22-year-old-man and a 28-year-old-man, both from Worcester, have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and are in police custody.

A 30-year-old man from Sparkhill, Birmingham, who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on Tuesday, also remains in police custody.

The arrests are in connection with an incident in Wylds Lane, Worcester, between 11pm on Saturday, November 23 and 1am on Sunday, November 24 where a 22-year-old man suffered potentially life changing injuries as a result.

He is currently stable and continues to be treated in hospital.

The Worcester News has been sent photographs of the horrific injuries but have decided not to publish them at the request of the man’s family.

One photograph shows the back of the alleged attack victim’s hand with a deep gash near the knuckles which appears to have cut very deeply into three of the fingers.

The Worcester News was also provided with a photograph of the man’s face with a stitched cut just below his left eye.

The cut appears to be about four inches long and runs from a point between the eye and the ear down towards the nose.

The father of the injured man, who did not wish to give a statement at this time, confirmed his son was ‘in a stable condition and doing well’.

He was able to confirm the nature of the injuries to his face and hand and also said he had two other stab wounds to the leg.

Sources within the Asian community have said men with balaclavas and wielding knives and machetes were involved in the attack, which they said was linked to drug dealing.

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Wall said: “I would like to reassure the community that we have now made three arrests in connection with the assault of our victim.

"We continue to actively seek individuals to help us with our enquiries relating to this incident.

“We have additional officers patrolling the area throughout the weekend, and I would encourage any members of the community that have any concerns to talk to the officers.”

He added: “This is an active investigation and I would appeal to the community that if anyone has any information, no matter how small they believe it to be, please call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”