Police officers Tasered a knifeman wearing roller skates after he went on a rampage through Bristol and left three people in need of hospital treatment.

Avon and Somerset Police said officers were sent to the Wells Road area of South Bristol at 3:10pm on Tuesday after the force received multiple calls about a man on roller skates attacking people.

Two men, one aged in his 20s and the other in his 50s, were stabbed in the incident, and were rushed to Southmead Hospital. Their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening last night.

A third man, also aged in his 20s, suffered a head wound and was taken to the same hospital but has since been discharged.

Officers were sent to the Wells Road area of South Bristol at 3:10pm on Tuesday (pictured) after the force received multiple calls about a man on roller skates attacking people

'On arrival at the scene, two officers were threatened by a man with a knife. One of the officers deployed their Taser in the process of detaining him,' a police spokesman said.

'The man, aged in his 30s, was taken to custody were he remains. A knife was recovered from the scene.'

Chief Inspector Nigel Colston, neighbourhood commander for South Bristol, said the force 'do not believe' the incident to be 'terrorism'.

One eyewitness, known only as Rebecca, said she was with her partner and two-year-old son on the west side of Wells Road near the Broadwalk Shopping Centre when she saw the attack take place.

'It was about 2.30pm and we were crossing the road and we saw a man running away from a man who was on roller skates behind him,' she said.

'At first we thought they were joking around - it was a guy on roller skates chasing a guy running away.

Two men, one aged in his 20s and the other in his 50s, were stabbed in the incident, and were taken to Southmead Hospital (Pictured: Police at the scene on Tuesday)

'But then the man running ran into the off licence next to the dentists and the man on skates caught up with him...'

It was then that Rebecca said she witnessed the attack take place.

'It was literally right behind us as we were waiting at the traffic lights,' she said. 'It was just horrible, and scary because I was worried about my little one.

'To see this in front of me was horrible.'

Shop worker Bhara Ni added he saw a man covered in blood run into a Subway fast food restaurant in Broadwalk Shopping Centre pleading for help.

'We stopped serving and ran to help him. The ambulances came and we heard other people had been stabbed. It was awful to see,' he said.

Another witness claimed on Twitter that the man 'tried to get into a cafe' during the rampage but 'the customers managed to lock the door'.

Chief Inspector Colston said: 'This kind of incident is extremely rare in Bristol and while we're keeping an open mind about it, I'd like to reassure people we do not believe it to be terrorism.

A third man, also aged in his 20s, suffered a head wound and was taken to the same hospital but has since been discharged (Pictured: Police at the scene on Tuesday)

'A full investigation is already under way and a team of detectives are working hard to establish exactly what happened. They have a significant number of witnesses to speak to and will be carrying out other enquiries, including house to house and CCTV enquiries in the coming days.

'Several members of the public bravely intervened in the incident and I'd like to praise their bravery and thank them for their assistance. South Bristol is a safe area and they demonstrated great courage and community spirit when faced with a very unusual incident.

'I'd also like to thank the two officers who detained a man who threatened to cause them harm. No one should be threatened while at work and the way they dealt with the situation was a credit to themselves and to Avon and Somerset Police.'

He added: 'We expect the specialist crime scene investigators to soon finish examining the area and we'll then be able to lift the road closures. I appreciate the closures have caused disruption and I'd like to thank the public for their patience while we carried out the necessary enquiries.

'Neighbourhood officers will be carrying out reassurance patrols during the next few days and anyone with any concerns is encouraged to speak to them.'