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A passenger dressed as a clown sparked a mass brawl on a P&O cruise ship, according to reports.

Families fled as passengers allegedly used furniture and plates as weapons onboard the ship, which had left Bergen in Norway just 12 hours earlier.

Passengers suspected of being behind the violence were reportedly confined to their cabins on the last day of the cruise, before being greeted by Hampshire police when the ship docked in Southampton on Saturday morning.

Chief correspondent for ITV's Good Morning Britain, Richard Gaisford, was on the cruise.

He wrote on Twitter: "Violent late night brawl at the buffet onboard P&O Britannia cruise left staff who intervened injured, as passengers used furniture and plates as weapons.

"Witnesses told me they were so frightened they had to hide, as family groups fought.

"The violence occurred on the final leg of a week long cruise to Norway's fjords.

"I became aware of trouble when officers made an emergency tannoy at 2am for security staff to rush to the 16th floor restaurant.

"I went too and found passengers shocked by what they'd seen. 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."

Staff told Mr Gaisford they had never seen anything like it, and one witness said "there was blood everywhere".

Another passenger said: "I was in my room when the security tannoy happened at 2am.

"I saw two people being escorted out by police - police holding their belongings - limping.

"Just to clarify, the majority of those onboard were perfectly civilised and nice individuals. It was just ruined by a few drunk idiots."

A Hampshire Police spokesperson said: “Officers are investigating following reports of a public order incident on-board P&Os Britannia.

“The incident happened during the early hours of Friday, 26 July while the ship was en route to Southampton from Bergen.

“Six people; three men and three women were assaulted. A number of injuries were suffered including significant bruising and cuts.Investigations are ongoing.”

Two people, a 43-year-old man and a 41-year-old man, both from Chigwell, Essex, have been arrested on suspicion of assault and are currently in police custody.