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A mass brawl and gunfight over a girl at a Moscow strip club left 15 people in hospital.

Club-goers and strippers fled in terror after rival gangs clashed in scenes "like the Wild West".

The violence was triggered when a girl who was with one of the gangs joined strippers on stage for a dance.

One gangster is said to have "tried moving in on her" causing another thug to attack a rival before pulling out a gun and shooting him in the stomach.

The violence then escalated as the two gangs piled into each other with more shots being fired and chairs slammed over heads.

Regular Vladlen Uspensky, 45, said: "It was absolutely terrifying.

"I’ve been going to these clubs for years and although you sometimes get a little trouble because people have had too much to drink, I have never seen anything like this.

"It was like something out of the Wild West.

"There were gunshots, fist fights, chairs being thrown, it was mental."

(Image: CEN)

Club owner Andrei Bolshakov nicknamed 'Mi Mi' said: "The incident involved 15 people.

"One of the groups had just arrived and they had a girl with them who joined the strippers on the stage for a dance, and one of the men from the other group tried moving in on her. The first group took offence to that, and fight started.

"Shots rang out, and all hell broke loose. We immediately called the police and an ambulance."

When emergency services arrived they found the bodies of the wounded men littering the club floor.

A police spokesman said: "Three men had gunshot wounds, five had severe head injuries and another 10 had varying degrees of injuries.

"Fortunately, no one was killed."

The men were taken to hospital where they are said to be recovering.

The police spokesman said: "The club was quite badly damaged during the incident but the owner says he will not be pressing charges.

"We will be though as they endangered the lives of the staff and other guests."