Two schoolgirls are stabbed in fight over a boy

TWO schoolgirls were stabbed during a clash between pupils from rival schools on a playing field.

The victims, aged just 13 and 14, suffered multiple knife wounds to the stomach, shoulder and leg. The two girls are in Royal Berkshire Hospital in a serious condition. A third girl, aged 15, was questioned by police before being released pending further investigations.

The pupils, from Reading, Berkshire, were understood to have arranged a confrontation on a playing field near the Thames. The dispute was said to have been over a boy.

Footage filmed by other children showed the girls viciously punching each other before one pulls a knife and stabs the 13-year-old in the stomach. The 14year-old is seen with a huge bloody patch on her tracksuit bottoms from a stab wound to her thigh. Adults at a nearby leisure centre dialled 999 for the police and ambulance service.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said detectives regarded the incident as assault causing grievous bodily harm.