HUNDREDS of Brits were forced to flee from a popular Turkish strip after a huge brawl between knife-wielding local thugs left dozens injured.
Holidaymakers in Oludeniz, Turkey, had to take cover after a gang of over 100 thugs hurled glass bottles and reportedly stabbed the owner of a local bar who was rushed to hospital after the attack.
The incident left many Brits scrambling for cover as gunshots began to ring through the holiday hotspot, as one Brit told The Sun: “There was blood everywhere!”
Footage obtained by The Sun shows chaos unfolding as a violent mob sweeps through the busy street, with thugs visibly carrying knives as missiles are launched towards a popular tourist bar.
Many holidaymakers had already filled up bars and restaurants ahead of the England v Ireland game last night, before trouble began to flare up at around 7.30pm.
One Brit, who was watching the match with his family, told The Sun: “We was just sitting at the bar watching the football and then a big crowd formed outside
“People were getting stabbed – they started attacking the owner of the VIP Bar.
“There were a good 200 people hurling pavement slabs and bottles.
“There were only 2-3 officers that were there, trying to sort 100-200 people.
“There were kids and women trying to get away – shops were being damaged. Armed officers shooting shots in the air.
“We haven’t seen anything like it since we’ve been here.
“It’s all just a bit distressing.”
According to witnesses, the attack seemed to centre on a local bar owner, with no reports of Brits being attacked during the mayhem.
One witness said: “About 20 lads were smashing him up with bottles and stuff, and slashing him with a knife.
“From what I know, there were no English people hurt – the police were expecting it to kick off.
“But you could get caught in the crossfire, one of [the bottles] could have deflected and hit me.”
Turkish cops managed to gain control over the area after an hour, and road sweeps cleared the mess caused by the violent mob.
But the frenzied flare up already put off many punters on the strip, who decided to call it a night after local tensions boiled over.
One Brit said: “You’re just trying to eat and then you’re 100 metres from a riot.
“You just knew something was going to happen.”
They added: “It is a really big tourist area – but to do that in pure daylight? I feel kind of sorry for the businesses, everyone’s cleared off.”
The Turkish tussle wasn’t the first time pandemonium has erupted in holiday hotspots popular with Brits.
In May, a brawl boiled outside a club in party resort Magaluf with hooligans filmed kicking and punching each other.
Witnesses said the fight was sparked by a squad of Spaniards and North Africans, before a group of Portuguese holidaymakers were found to be the culprits.
In July, two British women started a street scuffle in party resort Malia on the Greek island of Crete.
Footage captured the pair throwing haymakers at each other – apparently over the attention of a man.
Occasionally brawls break out between holidaymakers in the air rather than on land.
A Ryanair flight from Agadir to London Stansted in July had to return to Morocco after just 36 minutes in the air.
It started when a man, thought to be in his late 20s, asked another passenger to move so he could sit with his wife and young children.
The woman, who was sitting with her own daughter, reportedly refused to budge – prompting the thug to start threatening her.
The flight took off with no problems, but as soon as the seat belt signs came off, the passenger’s husband, understood to be in his 30s, is said to have jumped to his wife’s defence.
Punches were reportedly thrown between the two men while Ryanair staff attempted to intervene.
When the plane landed in Marrakesh, it was met by Moroccan police who marched nine people involved in the scrap off the plane.
