A WOMAN was last night being questioned by police after a man was stabbed in the heart during a parking row.

Surgeons battled to save the life of the unnamed victim who was yesterday in a stable condition in hospital.

A spokesman for Cleveland Police said: "Doctors at the James Cook University Hospital carried out life-saving surgery on the 30-year-old.

"The man received a very serious stab wound that pierced his heart.

"It was only the skills of the surgeon that saved his life."

Last night, a vehicle was also recovered by police but the search was continuing for the weapon used and for a man in his 30s said to have been involved in the incident.

The row in which the victim was stabbed took place at the Lealholme shops, Ormesby Road, Park End, in Middlesbrough on Sunday night.

The police spokesman said: "Apparently, there is only one way in and out and there was a row after one car had blocked the road.

"The occupants of the car blocking the road had gone into one of the shops, leaving the other unable to get out.

"There was then an altercation which ended with the man being seriously injured."

The spokesman said the injured man was a passenger in the car which was blocking the road.

Emergency services were called to the scene at about 7.45pm after witnesses reported two men fighting.

Officers are appealing to anyone who was in the area at the time and may have seen what happened to contact them on (01642) 303126.