Man stabbed in face in New Plymouth

Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

A man has been discharged from hospital after being stabbed in the face, an artery in his cheek sliced open, on Friday night.

Sergeant Bruce Irvine said the man was bleeding profusely when police arrived just before midnight outside a bar on Egmont St, New Plymouth.

Police did what they could to stop the bleeding before an ambulance arrived and took him to Taranaki Base Hospital, where he spent the weekend getting stitched up. He was discharged earlier today.

The man "wasn't making a lot of sense" and was "obviously pretty upset" when police dealt with him. It was unclear whether this was because he had been drinking or because of the amount of blood he had lost, Mr Irvine said.

From the nature of his wound, it appeared the man had been stabbed with a knife but this could not be confirmed, he said.

Police were looking for a young, slim man who was in the company of a young woman in connection with the incident. He was not known to the victim.

- NZPA