POLICE fear there could be "further violence" after a man was stabbed near a Southampton school.

The victim, aged in his 60s, has suffered puncture wounds to his neck and torso.

Police rushed to Burgoyne Road in Southampton at around 11.45am today following reports of a serious assault.

Now, a police boss has said that the attackers remain at large and their are fears of "further violence".

The victim was rushed to hospital by paramedics with serious injuries.

It is not thought the injuries are life-threatening or life-changing at this time.

Police have closed off an area of the road close to Hightown Primary School.

The air ambulance landed in the school field, but the school has said that children are safe.

Officers in Southampton have since authorised a Section 60 order in response to the incident - these are emergency powers which allows officers to stop and search anyone in a designated location, without the restrictions of normal stop and search.

Southampton District Commander, Superintendent Phil Lamb, said: “This level of violence and use of weapons in Southampton will not be tolerated.

“I have implemented a Section 60 order and surged resource into the area to stop and search people whilst suspects remain outstanding and further violence likely to occur.

"These powers will be reviewed, and we will use further powers if we need to, in order to prevent this kind of disorder from happening.

“These are not measures that we put in place lightly, but we have done so on this occasion to minimise the risk to the local residents of Southampton and ensure that there are no further incidents of this nature in our communities.

“You will likely continue to see an increased police presence across multiple areas of Southampton why our officers continue their enquiries and establish the circumstances that led to the serious assault this afternoon in broad daylight.

“If you have information about this incident or if you have any concerns, then I would implore you to please speak to any of our officers that you might see in the community.

“I would just like to take this opportunity to thank members of the public for their ongoing support during a time where there has been undoubtedly a lot of concern.

"We want to reassure you that we are increasing our patrols and seeking to identify those responsible for this abhorrent attack.”

One woman, whose child attends a nearby school, told our reporter: "I was coming back from Aldi when I saw police officers and thought to myself: 'oh god what’s going on now?'

“I asked one of the officers if they could tell me what’s happening but they said that they can’t. 

“They should tell the residents what’s happening.

"Since my kid goes to a school nearby for his safety I should know what’s going on.”

A man, who lives in a nearby block of flats, said that police in the area is "normal".

He said: “I moved into these flats nearly a year ago and you hear sirens all the time in this area.

"And sadly, it feels normal now and all we can do is just ignore it.

“I was in my bedroom when I looked out of my window and saw police officers.

“This incident is very worrying since it’s near the school."