Two men were recovering in hospital after two stabbings in Birmingham over the weekend.

One man was knifed following a disturbance on Broad Street and another was attacked with a glass bottle in an unrelated incident in Selly Oak.

Police were called to Broad Street outside the Sports Cafe, between Oozel Street and Sheepcote Street, during the early hours of Sunday following reports of trouble involving up to six men.

Broad Street was closed for four hours for investigations but reopened just before 9am.

A man in his 20s was arrested on suspicion of assault.

The injured man’s condition was described as stable and another man suffered facial injuries.

In the Selly Oak incident, a 20-year-old man was stabbed with a glass bottle on Tiverton Road at around 11.15pm on Saturday.

Police cordoned off the area as they carried out investigations in the area.

The victim’s injury was not thought to be life-threatening and he was also in a stable condition.

A 27-year-old was arrested on suspicion of assault.

Shopkeeper Dinesh Senadharajah, who was working at a Select and Save convenience store near the scene of the incident, said: “I saw two people walk into the shop and buy beer and vodka.

“The next moment they were out on the street fighting.

“We couldn’t see what was happening but afterwards there was blood everywhere.

“It was very frightening for both the staff and our customers but thankfully none of our clients were hurt.

“The police are now checking our CCTV cameras for evidence.”

The stabbings come as Home Secretary Alan Johnson revealed that hospital admissions for woundings from sharp objects have fallen by almost a third in nine areas of England targeted by the Government’s Tackling Knives Action Programme.

The nine areas that have seen the 32 per cent drop include the West Midlands as well as London, Manchester and Merseyside.

Mr Johnson said that police had stopped and searched around 250,000 people to check them for knives and were now finding fewer concealed weapons than a year ago.

Around 5,500 knives have been taken out of circulation under the plan.

Mr Johnson said: “It is a serious problem.

“My predecessor Jacqui Smith, together with the Prime Minister, launched the Tackling Knives Action Programme a year ago, focusing on the cities where there was a major problem.

“But it’s a longer term problem than just one year, which is why the programme goes on for several years.

“Everyone together – the police and local agencies, the schools and charities and community groups are really getting to grips with the issue.”

The Home Secretary was speaking ahead of an expansion of the scheme to be unveiled on Wednesday, which will see the initiative applied to young people aged up to 24, rather than just 13 to 19-year-olds.

New figures to be released on Wednesday will show that more custodial sentences and longer jail terms are being imposed for knife crime.

A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a pensioner whose body was found in a Midland park.

A spokesman for West Mercia Constabulary said a 30-year-old man was currently in custody helping with inquiries into the death of Gordon Whitehouse.

Mr Whitehouse, 66, from Whitbourne, was found dead in Gheluvelt Park, Worcester, at about 5.10am on Wednesday.