POLICE are hunting a 20-year-old man in connection with a stabbing at a party.

His 22-year-old victim is stable in Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital, where he was admitted with a stab wound to the chest, but did not need surgery.

A police spokeswoman said officers were called to a party at a house in Sutton Way, Saltersgill, Middlesbrough, several times on Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday.

She said: "Officers were called several times during the course of the evening after various scuffles spilled outside. On this particular occasion, the ambulance was called. We know who we are looking for."

The injured man made his way to the home of Sharon Reidy, in Forber Road. She said: "From what I could see, he had been stabbed in the lung area. He was bleeding quite badly and was nearly dead when I saw him."

Detective Sergeant Keith Dee, who is heading the investigation, said: "We are currently pursuing a 20-year-old man in relation to the stabbing. A number of addresses have been searched and we have done house-to-house inquiries."