A dad and his two-year-old daughter had an unknown substance sprayed over them by another man during an altercation over a taxi.
Emergency services raced to the scene following the unidentified substance being hurled at the pair, with two woman recalling the terrifying moment and then showering the baby in water in case the liquid was toxic.
The incident occurred on Prestwick town centre, Manchester, around 12:50pm on Friday and left several on-lookers in a state of shock. It is understood that the man who caused the row tried to 'jump the queue' for the taxi.
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The Manchester Evening News reports how Katherine and Ruth Nolan were sitting outside a Costa Coffee and witnessed the scenes. They said: "There was a bit of an altercation about getting the next taxi.
"It was the taxi for the family that the perpetrator jumped in. He said to the family guy 'I will level you in front of your missus and the kid'.
"A fight broke out, a few punches were thrown. I was shouting 'stop fighting, there's kiddies there'. The lad that went to the taxi, went into a bag and got a bottle out with a squeezy top on and threw it all over them, including the baby."
The sisters then frantically poured water over the baby to avoid any immediate harm, as well as telling the dad to pour it over his head and take off his coat.
Ruth said: "The baby's screaming got me. We saw the thing being squirted. They didn't know what to do with the baby... we said 'pour water, pour water'."
"We stayed with them trying to calm them down a bit," added Katherine. "Eventually the police, fire and everybody else turned up."
The offender was seen making off from the scene. He was wearing a black coat or hoodie with dark trousers at the time of the incident, the sisters said.
Officers spent a number of hours at the scene following the incident while an air ambulance was also seen in the area. The dad and his daughter were assessed, and GMP confirmed the substance had not been poisonous.
A spokesperson for the force said: "At around 12:50pm today (Friday, February 10 2023) officers were called to reports of an unknown substance being thrown on two pedestrians on Poppythorn Lane in Prestwich. Emergency services attended the scene to conduct medical assessments of the two victims and a thorough examination of the scene.
"Initial enquiries suggest an altercation occurred between two men outside a taxi rank, the suspect then got into a taxi and threw an unknown substance over the man and his child. This is believed to be an isolated incident and this individual does not pose a wider public threat.
"Officers are also now able to confirm the substance thrown on the victims is not noxious and the victims were medically examined at the scene as a precautionary measure." Anyone with information or CCTV footage from the incident is urged to contact GMP on 101 or online, quoting log 1460 of February 10, 2023.
Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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