A MAN was undergoing surgery last night after he was stabbed during a mass brawl at a gipsy site in which shots were reported to have been fired.

As many as 70 people were involved in the fight at Stockton's Bowesfield Lane gipsy site, on Wednesday night.

At least two people were taken to hospital with minor injuries in what police described as a "large scale disturbance".

Detectives said they have met a wall of silence in their attempts to find out why the fight occurred.

However, last night a spokesman ruled out that the incident stemmed from an influx of travellers in 22 caravans last weekend.

A Northern Echo reporter and photographer had to be escorted from the site by police after a bottle was hurled at them and they became the target of verbal abuse.

The injured man was taken to an undisclosed hospital with multiple cuts to his right wrist and leg. He was being operated on last night and his condition was described as stable.

Weapons discovered during a police search of the Stockton Borough Council-owned site included knives, baseball bats and sickles.

It was not known last night if they were used in the brawl.

Police said the trouble began when a convoy of four vehicles entered the site at about 9pm. All the vehicles had left by the time police arrived.

Detective Inspector Shane Sellers said that it was believed shots were fired but it was not know if they were from a shotgun or handgun. No firearms were found and no injuries were gun-related.

Det Insp Sellers said: "We have yet to speak to the man in hospital and we are continuing our inquiries on the site. This was a very serious incident. The violence used could easily have resulted in more people being seriously hurt."

Julie Allport, head of housing at Stockton council, said there had previously been no serious problems on the site, which underwent a £858,400 refurbishment in the early 1990s. She said the council was assessing the situation.

The trouble follows disturbances at a council gipsy site in the South Bank area of Middlesbrough and a makeshift site on Stockton's Portrack Lane Industrial Estate in January.

Anyone with any information is asked to call police on (01642) 302234 or Crimestoppers on 0800555111.