Teenager's hand 'completely severed' in machete attack

A large police cordon was put in place around Stanks Parade

A machete attack which severed a teenager's hand could be linked to other incidents involving rival gangs, police have said.

The 18-year-old victim suffered the "extremely serious injury" in Stanks Parade in the Swarcliffe area of Leeds at about 21:30 BST on Tuesday.

His condition is not life-threatening, West Yorkshire Police said.

The force has been granted additional stop-and-search powers to prevent further serious violent offences.

The Section 60 order means officers will be able to search people or vehicles for offensive or dangerous weapons without needing reasonable grounds of suspicion.

The order will be reviewed before it expires on Thursday afternoon, the force said.

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Police said the 18-year-old was found with the "extremely serious injury" on Tuesday evening

Searches by police continued on Wednesday

Police said a number of people had been arrested and charged in relation to the previous incidents, which include assaults and criminal damage.

Supt Russ Hughes said: "The incident last night has resulted in a particularly nasty injury being caused to a young man with a machete and I know people in the community will be as shocked and appalled as we are at this level of violence."

He said while they were working to establish the circumstances of what happened they "believe this attack may be linked to other previous incidents involving rival groups".

"Violence such as this cannot and will not be tolerated, and we will continue doing everything we can to identify those responsible and to take positive action against them", he added.

There will be an increased police presence in the area while the investigation continues.