West Hoe incident major update as huge police presence remains in Plymouth

Police have issued a major update on a massive incident that rocked an area of Plymouth tonight.

Emergency services swarmed West Hoe amid reports of a girl being stabbed and rumours swirling of a wider incident. The public was warned by police to "stay away" and images posted on social media showed a huge emergency response.

In a fresh statement issued tonight, Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Police are currently responding to a report of a serious assault in the West Hoe area of Plymouth. Officers were called at 8.55pm on Wednesday, 22 January after a person was found seriously injured in the street on West Hoe Road.

"They were treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to Derriford Hospital. A large number of police units remain on scene conducting extensive enquiries and searches in the area to locate a male suspect. The pair are believed known to each other.

"A scene guard remains in place on West Hoe Road and the road has been closed."

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Pebworth said: “We have a large police presence in the area and enquiries are ongoing to locate and arrest the suspect. We believe this is an isolated incident and there is no immediate threat to the wider public. We would ask members of the public to please stay away from the West Hoe area of the city while we continue our investigation.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information to assist police is asked to contact police online or by telephone on 101, quoting log number 756 of 22/01/25.

Earlier tonight, the force incident manager said they were "dealing with a serious assault at the scene" and "members of the public are being asked to stay away."

On X, formerly known as Twitter, one horrified witness claimed: "I've seen someone being given CPR. It feels like every police officer on duty tonight in Plymouth is here." Another local said he saw police descend on a block of flats.

A member of staff at The West Hoe pub told PlymouthLive there was a lot of police "just down the road" from the boozer. South Western Ambulance Service's "incident response unit" is also at the scene.

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