A DOG was stabbed during a brawl which broke out just a few hundred yards away from where Prince Andrew was due to visit a new Sheffield school 45 minutes later.
While officials and dignitaries were gathering at the new £30 million Sheffield Park Academy – formerly Waltheof School – on the Manor estate, police were called out to deal with a fight outside a row of nearby shops, in which a dog was stabbed.
They cordoned off part of Prince of Wales Road and began a sweep of the area for witnesses while the Duke of York was on his way to the school as part of a whistlestop tour of South Yorkshire yesterday.
By the time he arrived for his engagement, half an hour later than scheduled, police had managed to arrest most of those believed to have been involved.
A police spokeswoman said: "Two men have been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and a woman has been arrested on suspicion of assault. They are all currently being questioned by police.
"As a result of the incident a dog has sustained a stab wound and it is currently believed a man may have left the scene prior to the police arrival with possible injuries, which are not yet known. "
Prince Andrew was invited to officially open the new school and the ceremony was attended by dignitaries including the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey and former Conservative minister Dame Angela Rumbold.
Read more: Duke visitor to two innovative South Yorkshire companies - SLIDESHOWThe academy opened two years ago and now has facilities for a 250-place sixth form.
The Prince met students and staff and saw performances by the pupils' samba band and dance groups.
Head Kath Turner said the pupils were thrilled to have such a special guest. "It makes them feel special too. The students have been making the most of these fantastic facilities since they moved in and we've had over 100 of them involved in today's events."
Dame Angela, chair of the United Learning Trust which runs Park and its sister academy Springs, said the Prince had been impressed with the new building. "It offers the very best facilities to support all areas of the curriculum. It will help us deliver a high quality education designed to bring out the best in everyone.
"Two years since opening, the academy has already enabled a step change in education in this part of Sheffield," Dame Angela said.
"Behaviour is improving, attendance levels are rising and GCSE results are getting better and better each year.
"Now it is in its new building, there will be more opportunities for expanding the curriculum and developing enrichment activities."
Facilities include accommodation for subjects, including business and enterprise, science laboratories, art and food technology workshops, music suites and a recording studio and dance and drama studios.
There is also a main performance hall with retractable seating, new indoor and outdoor sports facilities and an industrial standard training kitchen and restaurant.
Anyone with information about the brawl should call Moss Way CID on 0114 296 3461 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
READ MOREMain news indexYour letters.
FeaturesMore Rotherham newsMore Doncaster newsMore Barnsley newsCheck out the very latest on South Yorkshire's roads - including live traffic cameras on Sheffield's commuter routes - with our Traffic sectionLatest sport. The full article contains 566 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
