DETECTIVES investigating the circumstances surrounding a man being stabbed in the neck in Southampton have released four people on bail.

Three men and a woman were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder but have since been released pending further enquiries.

Officers from Shirley police station were still trying to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident in Millbrook which left a man in his 20s with life-threatening injuries to his neck.

The man is currently in a critical but stable condition at Southampton General Hospital.

Two men aged 30, another aged 24 and a 29-year-old woman were arrested but have now been released.

Police were again conducting door-to-door enquiries as they worked to establish details of the stabbing, believed to have taken place in Pennine Road. A small area of Quantock Road was originally sealed off and two food outlets off Green Park Road also closed following the incident.

Residents reported hearing shouting and screaming along Pennine Road late on Wednesday evening when the stabbing is believed to have taken place.

Det Insp Gary Towse based at Shirley CID, said: “This isn’t a random attack we believe it was a targeted stabbing. The offender may not have intended to cause such serious harm, but we would urge that person to come forward.”

Appealing to residents he added: “You can speak to us in confidence and you may have the missing piece of the jigsaw that helps us solve this case.”

Anyone with information should contact Shirley CID on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.