A TEENAGER was repeatedly stabbed with a hypodermic needle at a youth disco.

Tom Gaunt, 14, from Skelton, east Cleveland, suffered five puncture wounds to his arms and back in an attack by a youths attending the Sweet Night disco at the Tall Trees in Yarm, near Stockton.

He has been given a series of injections at Middlesbrough General Hospital to guard against hepatitis B.

The disco is held every month for more than 2,000 youngsters and is supported by the local police.

His worried mum Sue, 36, said: "They were enjoying themselves when a youth, believed to have been drinking, hit Tom on the head and was removed from the premises by staff.

"Then, some time later, friends of the youth came up and said he had grassed on their friend and had him thrown out.

"Over a period, he felt some sharp pricks in his arms and than a sharp pain in his back. He did not see what had happened, but after going to the toilets he found he had been stabbed."

As well as injections against hepatitis B, Tom also gave a blood test when he was seen by staff at the general the hospital.

Ms Gaunt said he may decide to have an HIV test, following the result of his hepatitis test.

Jimmy Dean, chief executive of the Tall Trees complex, said the owners took the matter "very seriously."

He said: "Security and safety are a prime concern, but if someone in a horde of people uses a sharp instrument, we cannot guarantee against this."

Inspector Colin White, of Cleveland Police, said three officers were on duty on the night with Tall Trees staff.