SURGEONS are due to operate today to save the sight of a Kurdish refugee who was stabbed in the eye in a horrific street robbery.

The victim was visiting a friend in Southampton when he was attacked. He lost one eye and suffered a serious head injury.

He could be left blind in his other eye if surgeons at Southampton General Hospital cannot repair the damage to his optic nerves.

The 20-year-old man was with his 26-year-old Kurdish friend when they were attacked.

Yesterday police said the pair were walking to a shop when they were attacked at the junction of Archers Road and Hill Lane by a gang of six Afro-Caribbean men who demanded money.

But police now say the less badly injured man - who suffered cuts and grazes - has, through a translator, changed his statement.

Detectives have faced immense problems interviewing the man because he and his friend are Kurdish refugees from Iraq and don't speak a word of English.

It is believed the men may have been attacked elsewhere in the city as well as on Archers Road, where they were treated by an ambulance crew shortly after midnight on Sunday.

The younger Kurd, who is from Newcastle, was rushed to Southampton General Hospital where he was fortunate to be seen by an Arab-speaking doctor, but surgeons were unable to save his eye.

Detective Inspector Rachel Farrell, from Shirley CID, said: "We think that after a series of altercations in the city we have ended up finding the victim outside the Winston pub. Unfortunately details are sketchy because we haven't been able to speak to the victim who is still in a serious condition in hospital."

Detectives are appealing for any witnesses to call Shirley CID on 0845 045 4545 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.