A MAN has been left fighting for his life, following a double stabbing.

The 34-year-old lost so much blood as a result of the attack near Middlesbrough town centre, he had to be given an emergency blood transfusion.

He is reported to be "critical but stable" in the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, to where he was transferred from Middlesbrough General.

The unnamed man was with two friends, one of whom - a 26-year-old man - was stabbed in the body, the other spared, in the incident which occurred on the corner of Fleetham Street with Princes Road, just before midnight on Monday.

Detectives interviewed the badly injured man's two pals today in a bid to piece together what happened.

The area of the attack, which is thought to be linked to drugs, was cordoned off by police who recovered a knife. It is not known if the weapon was the same one used in the attack.