Gang violence fears after pop star is stabbed at resort in Cyprus

A stabbing in the Cypriot holiday resort of Ayia Napa has provoked fears of a fresh outbreak of gang violence back in Britain's clubland.

Police in Cyprus have questioned a member of the London-based collective, So Solid Crew, amid tensions between factions in the UK garage scene.

Dylan Mills, who as Dizzee Rascal is among the most highly touted emerging DJ talents in the garage movement, was dragged from a scooter on the island and repeatedly knifed in the chest, back and buttocks.

Mills, 18, from Bow, east London, was taken to hospital for surgery. So Solid member Dwayne Vincent, who uses the stage name Megaman, was questioned by police and released without charge. He has returned to Britain.

The stabbing on Tuesday afternoon came only hours after 15 members of So Solid arrived on the island to perform at Club Ice. The stabbing is said to have followed a period of rising tension in the resort, which attracts hundreds of thousands of British visitors each summer.

Garage lovers have made Ayia Napa their second home after south London and turned it into a clubbing mecca to rival Ibiza, which attracts a different crowd with a more House-based music policy.

But the Cypriot authorities have been trying to restore Ayia Napa's reputation as a family resort after growing problems with crime and drugs. Last summer, police took a hard line on British clubbers in Ayia Napa and some were jailed for having small amounts of cannabis.

Violence has dogged the garage music scene. So Solid's Jason Phillips, known as G-Man, was jailed for four years last month for possession of a loaded gun.

Four months ago, fellow group member Ashley Walters (Asher D) was jailed after he was caught with a Brocock pistol. And two people were shot and wounded at a birthday party for the group's rapper Romeo in 2001, and fan Marcus Hall was murdered after attending a garage event in Luton two years ago.

Last April, in London, a show by So Solid member Lisa Maffia ended in a fatal shooting.

Dizzee Rascal is expected to be released from hospital in a few days. It is believed that his attackers may have fled the island soon after the incident.