An alcohol fuelled mass brawl has broken out onboard a cruise ship.
Six people were hurt as P&O’s Britannia was on its way to Southampton following a trip to Norway’s fjords, according to police.
The late night brawl came about due to a passenger dressed up as a clown. The passenger was understood to be upset at the person dressed up “because they’d specifically booked a cruise” with no costume party. Plates were thrown during the incident.
One witness, part of a group involved in the trouble, explained to staff that things kicked off when another passenger appeared dressed as a clown. This upset one of their party because they’d specifically booked a cruise with no fancy dress. It led to a violent confrontation.
— Richard Gaisford (@richardgaisford) July 27, 2019
A man, aged 43, and a woman, 41, from Essex have been arrested on suspicion of assault.
Good Morning Chief Correspondent Richard Gaisford was on board the ship.
He said an emergency tannoy sounded to summon security to the restaurant in the early hours of Friday.
Posting on Twitter, he said: “Witnesses told me they were so frightened they had to hide, as family groups fought,” he said. “The buffet area was immediately sealed off as medical teams went to help the injured. Staff told me they’d never experienced anything like it and those behind the violence were confined to a cabin for the last day of the cruise, waiting for police here in Southampton.
Britannia left Bergen at 1430 on Thursday, the violence occurred 12 hours later after a black-tie evening. It followed an afternoon of ‘patriotic’ partying on deck, with large amounts of alcohol being consumed by many guests. pic.twitter.com/zQcEXGDJeg
— Richard Gaisford (@richardgaisford) July 27, 2019
