Residents and cafe owners have expressed their shock after a man was stabbed in North Finchley.

Police and ambulance crews were called to Ravensdale Avenue, just ouside the Sainsbury's car park in the High Road, at 2.20am on Friday, following reports of a stabbing.

A man aged 24 suffered multiple wounds to his torso during the incident. He was taken to hospital and said to be in a "serious but stable condition."

Waitrose in Ballards Lane confirmed the young man was an employee of the company, although they refused to name him.

A spokesman for Waitrose said the thoughts of the company were with the victim at this time.

CCTV footage gained from Pera restaurant on the High Road showed a man and a woman walking down the road from Toolans Irish bar holding hands. The man was wearing a suit. The footage then showed the woman running back in the direction of Toolans bar for help.

The manager of Pera restaurant said: “I saw from the footage the young man was bleeding heavily from the top of his chest. 

“The couple were holding hands in the footage, they looked like they’d been out celebrating something and were going home.

“It’s a horrible thing to happen. What sort of person attacks a man in front of his girlfriend?”

He added he was worried about the effect the incident would have on a normally safe area like North Finchley.

He said: “This is the first time anything like this has happened here. We're worried about how it mighht affect our customers. Something needs to be done about improving security here.”

An employee of Chinese restaurant Xia added this was a "bad thing to happen," and suggested there should be more police patrols in the area. 

Residents of Ravensdale Avenue, where the car park is situated, said they had heard sirens and police cars, adding the road had been blocked with police tape.

A resident said she was "shocked and scared" by the incident.

However, a resident said the incident was not “unexpected,” as he often saw people hanging around and dealing drugs outside the car park.

Another resident said: “Sometimes the doors to the Sainsbury’s car park are left open or are broken into. People hang around there and have parties in the car park or in the passage outside. They deal drugs and play loud music. I call the police, but by the time the police arrive the troublemakers have gone.”

Another resident said the incident made her feel “scared” to live in the street.

She added: “My son walks back from Woodside Park late at night when he’s been out with his friends. I don’t want anything like this to happen to him.”