Police are treating the stabbing of a man in Brighton early today as attempted murder.

A 19-year-old man underwent emergency surgery today for a severed artery and stomach wounds.

He was injured in an incident on the 11th floor of St John's Mount flats in Mount Pleasant shortly before 4am.

A trail of blood led down flights of stairs to the ground floor where the victim collapsed.

He was taken by ambulance to the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, where his condition was serious but not life threatening.

Police traced a white Sierra car to the Q8 garage at Patcham where a man in his 20s was arrested.

The area was sealed off as forensic experts examined the scene and officers carried out house-to-house inquiries.