Police in the English city of Birmingham declared a “major incident” after reports that a number of people were injured in stabbings early on Sunday.

“We can confirm that at approximately 12:30am today we were called to reports of a stabbing in Birmingham city centre,” West Midlands Police said in a statement.

“A number of other stabbings were reported in the area shortly after.

“We are aware of a number of injured people, but at the moment we are not in a position to say how many or how serious.”

Emergency services were working together at the scene to ensure that those who were injured were receiving medical care, the statement said.

Cordons were in place and there were some road closures in the city.

The BBC said the cordon was near the area known as the Gay Village in the centre of Birmingham, where many people had been seated at outdoor tables eating and drinking.

“At this early stage it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident,” the police said.