MORE than two assault victims a week were treated on average at Mid Cheshire Hospitals sites last year, new figures show.

Doctors at the NHS Trust, which is responsible for Leighton Hospital and Victoria Infirmary Northwich, saw 140 patients who had been admitted to hospital after being assaulted in 2019-20.

They were among 5,470 assault victims recorded across the north west, NHS data shows.

While a local breakdown of the figures is not available, across England there were 28,905 assault admissions recorded, of which assault by bodily force caused 16,852.

This was followed by 4,674 knife and sharp object attacks, and 2,115 assaults with a blunt object.

Adam Fouracre, chief executive at the Stand Against Violence charity, said: "We need to ensure our efforts to tackle violence focus on tackling violence holistically and not honing in on weapons."

Alcohol use, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights, is a major contributor to societal violence, he added.

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