THREE youths were being quizzed last night after a teenager was stabbed in the face with a screwdriver, just yards from his Hampshire home.

The 15-year-old had only left his home in Southampton moments before he was attacked by a gang in an unprovoked attack.

Before he had a chance to escape he was punched in the face by one of the youths, one of who had a screwdriver gripped between his knuckles.

The youngster’s mum described her horror at seeing her son come home with blood all over his face.

She said: “It is disgusting. He had only left the house moments before and then suddenly he’s at the front door with all this blood on his face.

The vicious assault happened as the teenager, who has asked not to be named, was walking along Wimpson Lane, Millbrook as he went to meet a friend yesterday lunchtime.

As he headed towards Severn Road one of the gang ran in front of him, pushing him on to the green.

Without warning, the attacker then punched the teenager in the face with the screwdriver pointing through his knuckles, and as the victim stumbled to the ground he was punched several more times in the face and across his stomach.

As he fell, his Blackberry Storm mobile phone fell out of his pocket, which was grabbed by the gang who fled in the direction of Kendal Avenue.

Hampshire police immediately launched a search of the area in a bid to find the gang. The armed response unit, who were in the area at the time, joined the search and within an hour of the attack happening, three males were arrested and taken into custody.

The victim’s mum added: “The police response has been brilliant, we couldn’t have asked for better. He’s lucky he got away with the injuries that he got because it could have been so much worse.”

Paramedics were called to treat the teenager who suffered several cuts to his lips. He was later taken to hospital to check his jaw and nose.

PC Antony Waghorn, from the Shirley Neighbourhood Team, said: “This is a cowardly act on a defenceless young boy which could have had serious detrimental effects on him.

“The use of weapons will not be tolerated and we will deal with the offenders robustly.”

Anyone with information about the attack should contact Shirley CID on 101.