Man stabbed in head and chest in west Belfast

A man has been arrested following a stabbing in west Belfast during the early hours of Monday morning.

It is understood the 28-year-old victim was stabbed three times in the chest and once in the head.

The attack in the Clondara Street area of the city was reported to police at about 0115 GMT.

A 26-year-old man was arrested in Brooke Crescent a short time later.

SDLP west Belfast Councillor Tim Attwood has expressed alarm at the attack.

"This is the second stabbing in our community in the past week which has seriously alarmed people living in West Belfast," he said.

"This barbaric attack could easily have killed the young male victim and our thoughts are with him as he attempts to recover from his ordeal."

Mr Attwood said people in the area had "suffered enough over the years at the hands of violence" and wanted a safe community for their children to grow up in.

"I will be meeting the police this afternoon to express the SDLP's concerns about the growing culture of knife crime in our area and will be pushing for a multi-agency approach to address this serious problem," he said.

The PSNI have appealed for anyone with information to contact them.