A TEENAGER has died in hospital after being stabbed in Cheltenham last night.

The 17-year-old boy was stabbed in the stomach at an address in Shakespeare Road at around 8.20pm yesterday.

He was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in a critical condition but died there this morning.

The coroner has been notified and police officers are contacting the victim’s family to inform them.

Detectives have launched a murder investigation and are following a number of inquiries to trace the offender, who they believe is a man.

"We understand the concern this prompts in the local community but at the moment it's too early to provide any answers about the circumstances as we are still following up a number of inquiries,” said detective inspector Ruth Mather.

"What I can say is that as well as our detectives working near the scene we have local PCs and PCSOs patrolling and knocking on doors in the area to provide reassurance and gather further information.

"Please talk to them if you have concerns or information or ring 101. If you would rather stay anonymous please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

"In the meantime we're doing everything we can to trace the person responsible and have specialist officers offering support to the victim's family."

Anyone with any information about this incident should call 101 and quote incident 415 of October 2.