A man remains seriously ill in hospital after being stabbed inside a petrol station forecourt shop.

Staff were forced to flee and hide inside a safe room during the incident at the Esso petrol station in Hengrove Way, Bristol

Avon and Somerset Police said the victim, who was in his 20s, was hurt during an apparently motiveless attack on Thursday morning.

He managed to flee the shop and was driven from the scene by a friend who was waiting on the forecourt. He was attended by the ambulance service in a nearby street and taken to hospital.

Armed officers were at the scene within five minutes of the alarm being raised and after two hours of negotiations, a 52-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Police used distraction devices and a baton round during the arrest and the man remains in custody.

Members of staff at the forecourt, which had a Morrisons Daily shop inside, were uninjured after remaining in a safe room and were in contact with police throughout.

A force spokeswoman added: “Detectives say there were a number of people in the shop and on the forecourt at the time and urge anyone who has not yet spoken to them to get in touch, especially if they have any dashcam footage of the incident.”