A MAN was knifed in a fight in Weymouth town centre.

Girls leaving a nearby youth club screamed when they found an injured man lying motionless on the road.

The man was treated by paramedics and the road was shut by police.

It is believed he was involved in a brawl with several other men, one of whom received knife wounds.

Officers made three arrests but the man who is believed to have been stabbed has not been traced after leaving the scene.

Residents in Belle Vue, near Alexandra Gardens, spoke of how they saw someone lying in the road to what they believed to be a craft knife.

Brenda Plummer, 65, was at home when she heard shouting.

“I came out and there were girls screaming and crying. The youth club had just shut”, she said.

“The chap was just lying there and I could see a craft knife on the floor.

“He looked unconscious and there was blood on the ground.”

Police closed the road at East Street and The Esplanade – near to the youth club held at Weymouth Baptist Church where teenagers had left just after the fight finished.

Maurice Hawes, 81, was arriving home with his wife from a trip away when they found police and paramedics outside their house.

He said: “We came back on the bus from Exeter and walked along the front and could see the police cars and ambulances.

“We couldn’t get to our front door. The man who had been assaulted was outside so we had to go around the back. It was cordoned off for about two hours.”

Mr Hawes’ wife spent Saturday morning sweeping up glass and washing away the blood from the pavement and the wall under their front window. Other eye witnesses on the harbourside said they saw a team of police arrive.

Officers did not give the ages of those involved but those who saw the arrests and the injured man said they all looked aged around 18.

Amrit Ahluwalia, owner of The Harbour House guest house, did not see the fight but saw the police and the youth club children.

She said: “There was quite a kerfuffle on the street.

“The street was cordoned off and there were groups of youths looking very upset.”

A Dorset Police spokesman said they want the injured man to come forward to help with the investigation.

He said: “There was a disturbance in Belle Vue at about 9.30pm on Friday following which three local men were arrested on suspicion of assault. Following enquiries it appears a knife was involved.

“Somebody was injured with a knife and we are appealing for that person to come forward.”

Any witnesses who saw five men in the area or who have any information about the stabbing victim can call Dorset Police on 101.