"keep an ongoing dialogue'' with young persons in order to reduce the level of violence in the community.

Public Safety Minister Quinton Edness made the plea yesterday -- hours after four men were stabbed in an early morning gang fight at the Clayhouse Inn.

Mr. Edness said: "It is very disconcerting whenever you see young people involved in this kind of activity.

"But it is a phenomena that we all have to be concerned about and we must try to find a way to deal with it.'' Mr. Edness said that it would be overly simplistic to blame parents for their children's actions because the vast majority of young persons behaved respectfully in public.

Nevertheless he called on the community to continue a dialogue with young persons.

He added:"If persons behave in this manner they are breaking the law and the Police will deal with them accordingly.

"We have to make them understand that this behaviour will affect their lives they will end up either in hospital or in jail.'' Mr. Edness was responding to reports about a fight outside the Clayhouse Inn that resulted in four men being treated at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for stab wounds.

Police were called to the Clayhouse Inn on Sunday around 3 a.m.

When they arrived, they found a man swimming in the waters off North Shore as a group of persons threw objects at him.

Police and an ambulance crew intervened and assisted the 19-year-old man out of the water.

It was then discovered that he had head injuries, cuts and bruises about his body and a broken tooth.

He was taken to King Edward VII Memorial hospital where he was treated.

At the hospital, officers discovered there were three other men in the Emergency department who had been stabbed as a result of the same incident at the Clayhouse Inn.

A 17-year-old man had been stabbed in his chest, back and leg, while a 16-year-old had a stab wound to his shoulder and head.

The third, a 20-year-old man, had his hand sliced. All three of the men were from Warwick Parish.

A Police spokesman said the fight occurred after several youths came to the Clayhouse Inn armed with knives and attacked another group of young men for no apparent reason.

When the group that was attacked defended themselves, the incident escalated and spilled out into the parking lot.

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old was arrested during the fight outside the Clayhouse Inn after a Police officer saw him punch another man in the face.

When Police arrested the teenager, it was discovered he was carrying a large knife concealed in his jacket.

The youth was taken to Hamilton Police Station and questioned. Then he was released into his parents' custody.

He will appear in juvenile court at a later date. Police also arrested a 19-year-old Hamilton Parish man who was also seen punching another man in the face. He will also appear in court.

In a second incident on Sunday morning, an 18-year-old Southampton man was taken to hospital from the Odyssey Nightclub after he was hit in the face with a bottle.

Police probe gang fights The blow rendered him unconscious and he was detained in hospital. The incident, which occurred around 1.30 a.m. was followed by other skirmishes and Odyssey management asked Police for help in closing the club early.

Although the patrons left quietly, there were other disturbances on Front Street.

On Saturday, Police also arrested two Warwick youths at around 4.30 p.m. after they allegedly stole lights from a Christmas tree and threw them at other people.

At around 4.20, a man told Police that two youths had set some trash on fire on Front Street.

Next, they removed some lights from a Christmas tree near the Flagpole and threw them at the man.

Soon afterward, another man called Police and complained that two young persons had thrown some light bulbs at him in the vicinity of the bus terminal.

Police arrested the alleged culprits as they attempted to run away in the direction of Bulls Head car park.

In an unrelated incident, Police took a 35-year-old St. George's man to the hospital at around 2 a.m. on Saturday after he was seen walking completely naked along York Street in St. George's. It is not known what caused the man to act in this manner.