A SOUTHAMPTON man is fighting for his life after he was stabbed in the street during a fight involving up to 15 people.

The 37-year-old man from the Shirley area collapsed on the pavement after he was stabbed in the abdomen during the incident shortly before midnight last night.

Police were called to the Mansion Road and Queenstown Road area of Freemantle following reports of a disturbance.

The man, who police say is critically ill this morning, underwent emergency surgery and is now in the intensive care unit at Southampton General.

Eye witness Alan Flynn, 33, watched the events unfold from his Park Road home.

He said: "It was a pitched battle out there. My mum's plant pot was taken and used as a weapon. It's all broken now.

"I could only see a bit of it, but I've seen punch-ups at football matches and I've never seen anything like that. "

Two men in their twenties were arrested and are today being quizzed by detectives at Southampton Central police station.

The area surrounding the scene of the attack has been sealed off as scenes-of-crime experts search for forensic evidence and officers carry out house-to-house inquiries.

A team of 15 detectives are working on the investigation, codenamed Operation East-park, which is being run from a special incident room at Hulse Road.

Detective Inspector Rachel Farrell said: "Although we believe there was a large group of people at the scene, we know that not all of them will have been involved in the incident, and those people could be vital witnesses.

"We urge anyone who did witness a fight or disturbance in this area to contact us as soon as possible."

Call Southampton CID on 0845 045 4545 or call the anonymous Crimestoppers hotline on 0800 555 111.