MANCHESTER - A man trying to break up a fight between two women near a downtown bar ended up with a swollen and bruised back after he was hit with a hammer from behind.

The fight happened about 1:50 a.m. outside W.R. Taverna, 201 Merrimack St. According to police, several people were fighting in a lot at 456 Union St. but most stopped when they saw police. Two women, however, continued fighting and only stopped after they were pepper-sprayed, police said.

Police arrested Vanessa Negron, 33, of 662 Harvard St., and Marian Reyes, 23, of 283 Bridge St., and charged them with disorderly conduct.

Jose Perez, 28, of 662 Harvard St. - the same address as Negron - had tried to separate the two woman and was hit in the back by a man wielding a drywall hammer.

Witnesses identified the assailant as Miguel Torres, 23, of 283 Bridge St. - the same address as Reyes. He was arrested and charged with second-degree assault.

Police recovered the hammer from underneath a parked vehicle where witnesses said Torres hid it.