A FATHER has spoken out about his fears of growing youth violence in Basingstoke after his teenage son was stabbed at the weekend.

The man, whose identity is being protected by the Gazette, also criticised Hampshire Constabulary, saying that more could have been done to prevent it from happening.

His comments come after two people were stabbed in Basingstoke, last weekend.

Now, the father of the boy who was attacked in Brighton Hill on Saturday has spoken about his fears as a parent during a time when he says there is increased youth violence in the town.

"All the kids are wanting to be gangsters," the man said.

"There has been lots of stabbings in Basingstoke in the last few years.

"They know that no one is going to grass them up and that the police aren't going to do anything. Normally all of this stuff gets brushed underneath the carpet."

The teenager was rushed to hospital and forced to undergo five hours of critical surgery to save his internal organs, according to another family member.

The youngster also suffered internal bleeding.

Two teenagers, aged 15 and 16, were arrested by police and have been released on bail.

However, the father claims that had the police acted after his son was arrested previously, he would not be in the situation he is in today.

The worried parent said his 17-year-old son has been arrested 10 times in the last two years but on each occasion, he has been released without charge.

Speaking exclusively to The Gazette, he said: "You tell [your children] that a bad thing is going to happen to them if they do this, and then it doesn't."

His dad said this perceived lack of consequences has lead to the youngster feeling "untouchable", which may have led to him being attacked.

The parent continued: "I did see it happening and we all tried to stop him by warning him what would happen.

"There is a point when most people give up because they are not getting anywhere.

"The police are the main reason why we are in this situation.

"I have begged and pleaded for the police to do something, they just don't do anything. We hold the police and youth offending team responsible."

Hampshire Constabulary said that it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation.

Police said that patrols had been stepped up across Basingstoke on Monday in response to the two incidents.

As well as the incident in Brighton Hill, police were called to Elizabeth Road, South Ham, on Sunday evening after a man in his 40s sustained stab wounds.

The man suffered "serious" injuries, and according to the latest information released by police on Monday, he remains in hospital. No one has been arrested in connection with this incident as yet, and police say enquiries are "ongoing".

Police are asking anyone with information about either incidents to get in contact on 101, quoting 44200223842 for the Brighton Hill incident or 44200225488 for the South Ham incident.