A BIRTHDAY party that swelled after being advertised on Facebook ended up with a brawl in the street.

Police were called to Sobar, in King Street, Clitheroe, after four young partygoers began fighting after attending a private function at the bar.

An open invitation had been posted on Facebook, causing the guest list of 250 people to increase to around 1,400.

As officers arrived at the scene to break up the disturbance, shortly before 3am on Sunday, most of the guests were dispersing.

One male officer directly involved in arresting the men on suspicion of public order offences ended up with a suspected dislocated finger.

Two men, aged 18 and 23, from Clitheroe, were released with a police caution, and a 19-year-old man, also from Clitheroe, was released after being handed a fixed penalty notice.

Another 19-year-old man was released on police bail on suspicion of assault.

Detective Sergeant Marc Cruise, of Blackburn CID, said: “Ninety-nine per cent of the people there knew how to enjoy themselves and behave.

“It was just that one per cent that ruined the event for everyone.”