Shocking moment teens slash at each other with machetes in packed Luton shopping mall as horrified families look on

A TERRIFYING video captures the moment three teenagers lashed at each other with huge knives in front of young children and their families in a busy shopping mall.

Trails of blood were left as Che Stephens, Luca Sanni and Imani Pobi Da Silva, who are now all aged 18, attacked each other in a frenzied knife fight which left Sanni with a life-threatening injury.

The bloodcurdling attack broke out in The Mall in Luton on Sunday January 2, Luton Crown Court heard.

CCTV captured Stephens stabbing Pobi Da Silva, who was then aged 17, before Sanni lunged at Stephens with a machete.

Stephens managed to escape and calmly left the scene as Sanni, who was bleeding heavily, was saved by an ex-Army medic who happened to be passing by.

Sanni was reportedly blue-lipped as he received treatment for his wound which was so serious that police expected the incident to turn into a murder investigation.

Judge Barbara Mensah blasted the "horrifying spectacle" of the broad daylight attack.

She also rejected their explanation that the violence had been over an ex-girlfriend.

The judge said to the young men: "It might have been drugs territory or gangs - only the three of you know and you have chosen not to disclose it."

Sanni, from Luton, was sentenced to five years after being found guilty of attempted grievous bodily harm and affray.

He was also jailed for eight months, to be served concurrently, after pleading guilty to possession of a bladed article.

Pobi Da Silva, of Luton, was given 12 months after being found guilty of possession of a bladed article.

But Stephens, of Bedford, was sentenced to seven years and six months for wounding with intent and 18 months after pleading guilty to possession of a bladed article.

The incident is just one of thousands of knife crimes which have recently surged in and around London.

After sentencing, Bedfordshire Police Detective Inspector Jackie Dadd said: "I hope this sentence sends a very clear message to others who may be carrying a knife - violence like this won't be tolerated.

"If you carry a knife then you're more likely to become a victim of crime yourself."

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