A MAN was stabbed five times by a woman during a heated early morning row outside a strip club.

The 24-year-old victim was taken to Southampton General Hospital for treatment after he was attacked with a butterfly knife in the city centre.

He and a 23-year-old friend had been involved in an argument with another group of people outside For Your Eyes Only in Southampton’s High Street at around 3am on Sunday.

After the row, the pals went into the club but emerged sometime between 3.30am and 4am.

They wandered in the direction of the Bargate, towards the cashpoints, and were attempting to hail a taxi when the man and woman they had earlier quarrelled with reappeared, and another argument soon broke out.

It is understood that during the second row, the woman asked the man she was with for a knife he was carrying, which she then used to repeatedly attack one of the pair they were confronting before they both ran off.

Police were called by the horrified taxi driver.

Officers soon arrived and a search of the nearby roads was carried out, during which a man and woman were arrested.

The victim, who is from Southampton, was treated in hospital for the stab wounds.

His injuries were not lifethreatening, and it is believed he is now back at home recovering.

His friend, who is 24 years old, is not thought to have been hurt in the incident.

The arrested pair – a 28-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man, both from Southampton – were quizzed by police on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm.

They have now been released on police bail, pending further enquiries, until February.

Anyone who saw either the initial argument or the stabbing should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.