West Midlands Police have confirmed they are investigating a series of knife attacks linked with the current trend for Gladiator sandals.
The shoes, this year's must have footwear for women who think style is better than substance, are based on those worn by fighters in colloseums across the Roman Empire.
However, at least 4 british women are known to have been seriously injured in underground fights after pourchasing a pair.
"We are currently investigating what appears to be a fighting club, similar to the one in the film Fight Club, where women dressed as gladiators battle each other to win a pair of golden sandals." Detective Chief Inspector Harry Murdoch said.
"From what we understand, women buying an ordinary pair of these shoes are offered the chance to win the golden pair, if they partake in often brutal but exciting orgies of blood." he drooled.
Details of these fights are scant, but it's understood they take place in disused warehouses where the women are dressed in skimpy outfits and armed as a Retiarius or net-fighter.
Internet forums suggest the current champion is a 68 year old mother of four from Hednesford, who is apparently used to the fighting having honed her skills in the Boxing Day sales.