Town's suspected stabbing leaves residents reeling

IVYBRIDGE IS A SLEEPY PLACE AND FEELS SAFE’ THEY SAY

- PAUL GREAVES

FOR a “sleepy” Devon town like Ivybridge the sight of a police cordon sealing off a bloody crime scene was unexpected on a Monday morning. If the town is known for anything it is for staying out of the news.

Ivybridge is cherished for its independent shops, excellent commuter connections to Plymouth and Exeter and for being within walking distance of the magnificent and brooding Dartmoor hills. But last Monday was different.

As one resident said: “Everyone was like, ‘What is going on?’ This is not what Ivybridge is like at all. There’s maybe a fight at a pub or something, but not people getting stabbed.”

Police are still investigating what happened on that Sunday evening (of April 28). What we know is that police and ambulance services found a man in his 50s with a suspected stab wound.

A second man was taken to hospital with lacerations. There was a muchpublicised manhunt and by Friday three people had been arrested, one on suspicion of attempted murder. The investigation is ongoing and all suspects released on bail.

There are plenty of rumours in the town about what happened in Fore Street but, for now, the cause of the suspected violence has not been made public. Local shopper Sheena Scantlebury says: “I’ve never heard of anything like that happening in Ivybridge.”

She sees no sign of the town descending into a den of vice and violence and has few fears of dark alleys. “I’ve been here 15 years and it’s the best move I ever made,” she said. “Everybody is friendly. I like the independent shops and it’s a nice community. I walk the dogs and don’t think anything about going down the back lanes... although not at night, of course. That would be silly. I’m too old and couldn’t run away.”