A trainee electrician is in a London hospital with "life changing injuries" after a stabbing at a nightclub.

Another man, believed to be a doorman, was attacked on the same night at Coyotes in Chatham in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Two men, aged 19 and 33, have since been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent.

The teenager was also arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place

The 23-year-old victim's dad Ricky Jeapes, speaking from his son Ryan's bedside, said: "I was woken up at 3am and told he'd been stabbed five times and he's got a punctured lung.

"I got in my car and raced up to the hospital, thinking the worst.

"I did not know whether my son was dead or alive."

He said when he arrived at King's College Hospital there were police outside and Ryan was in pain and "screaming with anger".

Ryan has told him that he went to the late night gay bar in New Road Avenue for "a night out with the lads" after watching the England v France World Cup match.

He was stabbed in the back near the toilets after talking to a girl he knew.

He was then knifed in the stomach and chest area, according to Ricky.

He said: "I have been told the bouncer who came to rescue him was also stabbed."

Ricky, 60, who lives in Rochester High Street, said: "Ryan's a good lad. I thought they were supposed to be cracking down on knife crime. How can this happen?"

Ryan, who lives with friends in Rochester, was a regular member of a gym run by ex-boxing world champ Johnny Armour.

Ricky, who's also dad to university student Lily, 18, has been constantly at his son's bedside since the attack.

Vicki Foster, police spokesman, said: "Kent Police was called at 1.18am on Sunday, December 11 to a report of two people sustaining injuries, consistent with stab wounds, to their abdomens, while inside a nightclub in New Road Avenue, Chatham.

"Officers attended along with other emergency services and both victims were taken to a London hospital for treatment.

"One person sustained life changing injuries and remains in hospital.

"Two men, a 33-year-old man from Halling and a 19-year-old man from Gillingham, were both arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent.

"The 19-year-old man was additionally arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. He has been bailed until Friday, March 10, pending further inquiries.

"The 33-year-old man has been bailed until Sunday, March 12, 2023 while further inquiries are carried out."