POLICE say investigations continue and patrols have been stepped up after a scuffle between members of the public and security officers at intu Merry Hill last night (Tuesday July 28).

Officers from West Midlands Police were alerted just after 8.30pm last night to reports of a disorder involving around 15 people in a car park at the shopping centre.

A police spokesman said: "No one was reported to have suffered any serious injuries and the crowd was dispersed."

Merry Hill bosses, however, say four members of the mall's security team were "assaulted for simply doing their job".

A spokesman for intu Merry Hill said a group of people who had been banned from the centre had been refused access and things turned violent so police were called.

The spokesman added: "We have reviewed all of the available evidence and we are confident that our team acted professionally under very difficult circumstances.

"We will continue to assist West Midlands Police with their inquiries and provide all the support we can to our affected team members.”

A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said an ambulance was sent to the incident, after a call from police at 9.07pm, and a teenager was treated for minor injuries and discharged at the scene.

Police say investigations continue with CCTV footage from the area being collated and officers on patrol to provide reassurance.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact police via Live Chat on the force website, or call 101, and quote crime number 20DY/177492E/20.