A witness has described seeing a teenager who had been stabbed collapse in the street.

The 19-year-old remains in a critical condition after being knifed in Highams Park last night.

Police and ambulance services were called to The Avenue at 10:50pm following reports of a man suffering from stab wounds.

But the victim had been taken to hospital by two friends, according to the witness.

The 43-year-old woman, from Chingford Hatch, who asked not to be named, was drinking in the Signal Box bar, next to the Avenue Food and Wine off-licence, when she spotted the teenager through the window "rolling on the floor."

She said: "He had no top on. I thought he was drunk because he was shirtless and rolling on the floor.

"A friend was trying to help him up and then they walked over to a black car with another man and drove off.

"There was no commotion and no-one was screaming. It was all just a bit odd.

"It just looked like he had fallen over. I felt bad I didn't help him, but I didn't realise he had been stabbed until after the police arrived."

According to the witness, as police immediately taped off the parameter around the off-licence and then started taping off the road, she moved her car to nearby Handsworth Avenue.

However, as she walked back to the bar, an officer told her to walk on the right hand side of Castle Avenue as there was a "trail of blood on the left hand pavement".

She suspects the victim was stabbed in Castle Avenue and not outside the off-licence.

The witness added: "I don't think it happened outside the off-licence as it looked like he had come from across the road and then collapsed outside.

"A man from the off-licence had come out and was speaking to the man who was helping him and kept going in and out of the shop.

"When he was being helped into the car, it looked like he had grazes on his left shoulder like he had gone down hard."

The area is still cordoned off as enquiries continue and the 275 bus route remains diverted along Larkshall Road to Hatch Lane and then up towards Chingford Lane.

There have been no arrests and officers specialising in gang crime are investigating.