A man has been stabbed in the stomach in Ramsgate.

The attack happened near St Laurence-in-Thanet Church in Newington Road at around 5am.

Police say they were called to reports of a disturbance.

A man in his 20s was taken to hospital with a single knife wound to the abdomen but officers said it was not believed to be life-threatening.

Officers remained at the scene and the area was sealed off between the roundabouts for Manston Road and the High Street until around 3pm.

A police spokesman said of the attack: “Enquiries are ongoing into the circumstances.”

The stabbing did not happen in the church grounds but the church was initially sealed off during a broad-sweep search for clues.

It reopened to the public later in the morning.

One local woman said: “I had heard later that morning that there had been some kind of a fracas.

“The church had been sealed off but police were later able to accommodate people using it. It was found that the stabbing victim was not killed.

“You no longer get shocked by these things. I am surprised we got through the Second World War with some people’s attitudes.”

No arrests have yet been made.