NEIGHBOURS of a man stabbed on a quiet housing estate have been left shocked by the attack.

The 36-year-old was attacked by four men in Hayden Road, on the Meridian Park estate, Waltham Abbey, just after midnight on Friday morning (January 21).

The man's 26-year-old neighbour said he heard him shouting for help from his bedroom.

He rushed downstairs to find the man lying on the ground with stab wounds in his chest, stomach and legs.

“His wife was on the phone, I think speaking to the ambulance,” he said. “Me and my mum, dad and older brother came out to help and we were just trying to stop the bleeding with towels. He was in a pretty bad way.

“His wife was on the phone for about 10 to 15 minutes before the paramedics came.”

He said the four men who are believed to have attacked the man had driven off by the time he and his family got outside.

He said it was the first time he had seen the 36-year-old, but another neighbour, David James, 43, said he lived in Hayden Road with his family.

“I was quite shocked, because I spoke to him on Wednesday,” added Mr James. “They were an all-right family and there was nothing untoward.

“We're nearly all families down here and it's a quiet place. It's a nice area.”

He said he had been out working a night shift when the attack happened, but had been told by police at the scene afterwards that the stabbing was a random attack.

The man was taken to Whipps Cross hospital, where he needed surgery.

Anyone who was in Hayden Road between midnight and 12.30am on Friday should call Harlow CID on 0300 3334444 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.