Man, 22, arrested on suspicion of assault in relation to the incident

Police sealed off the busy route to search for it

It is understood that his penis was cut off and was missing

It was reported a gypsy gang attacked the man in dispute over woman

Police said he had suffered serious injuries, and wounds to his groin

40-year-old found in distressed state at the side of the A66 in Middlesbrough

A gypsy gang chopped off a man's genitals after they discovered he had slept with one of their girlfriends, it has been reported.

Police brought a busy dual carriageway to a standstill today to hunt for a penis after he was discovered severely injured at the side of the A-road.

The 40-year-old was discovered in a distressed state on the side of the A66 dual carriageway in Middlesbrough this morning, Cleveland Police have confirmed. It has been reported that the man was seen searching in undergrowth.

A member of staff at Asda close to where the incident happened said he heard the man had suffered the horrendous injury to his groin.

Standstill: Police closed a busy dual carriageway in the North-East last week to hunt for the man's penis

Distressed: The 40-year-old was discovered in a distressed state on the side of the A66 dual carriageway

A 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault in relation to the incident and was released on bail

He added: 'A few of the Asda staff have been talking and apparently it was some gypsy men doing it to another guy after they found out he had slept with one of their girlfriends.

'I don't know his name but that seems to be what I have heard.'

Although police would only say that the man had suffered serious injuries and wounds to his groin area, it is understood that his penis had been cut off and was missing, prompting officers to close sections of the route in order to search for it.

Around eight officers were seen combing a grass verge at the side of the road, while tape was used to seal off a section of the carriageway.

Officers search the verge of the dual carriageway for the man's organ and other forensic evidence Last week it was revealed that Mr Hewitt has fathered at least seven children by three different women

Road block: This stretch of the A66 near Middlesbrough was sealed off by police investigating the incident

The road closed some time between 4.20am and 9am and was open again by midday. The police closed east bound carriageway first while they searched, then west bound.

A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assault in relation to the incident was held in police custody this afternoon, where he was being questioned by officers and was bailed

pending further enquiries.

The injured man, of Southbank, Middlesbrough, was found at 4.50am with serious injuries and was taken to hospital by ambulance, officers said.

Ambulance: Mr Hewitt was found at 4.50am with serious injuries and was taken to hospital

Investigation: Officers were said to be 'keeping an open mind' as to how the man was injured

'The road closures were required as part of the investigation into how the man received his injuries,' said a police spokesman. 'This is necessary so that officers can look for anything which may shed light on how he became injured or his direction of travel.' The police had taped off a Vauxhall Zafira on a nearby gypsy site.

He added: 'If the road was not closed any evidence could be lost or destroyed.'

'Investigations are at a very early stage.'

Missing: It is understood that his penis had been cut off and was missing, prompting officers to close sections of the route in order to search for it

The spokesman added: 'Officers are keeping an open mind as to how he received his injuries and key to this will be speaking to the man himself when they are able to do so.'

A second man who did not wish to be named said: 'I work on an industrial site close to where it happened.

'When I came into work this morning it was bedlam because the whole place was at a standstill.

'Nobody has told us what has happened, we heard there had been a body found and that there had been a stabbing but these could just be rumours.'

WHAT CAN BE DONE? A MEDICAL EXPERT ON THE HORRIFIC INJURY Professor Raj Persad, a consultant urologist and erectile dysfunction expert at Bristol’s Urological Institute , said: 'It can bleed a hell of a lot. It's just like severing a finger. 'You need to keep it clean and put it in an isolated plastic bag then pack (the bag) with ice. 'The functional recovery will depend on where the injury was. It's very difficult to re-suture the nerves but you can rejoin the corporal tissue (the erectile tissue which contains most of the blood in the penis during erection) and the urethra. 'The further away (the wound) is from the pudendal nerve (a nerve in the pelvis that carries sensation from the genitalia), the more likely he is to get function. Hopefully there are enough nerves left. 'He may end up with numbness along the shaft of the penis. 'He will be left with a deficit of some sort.' Advertisement

A man who had been walking his dog through the area when police started closing the roads said: 'From what I could gather there had been some sort of stabbing.

'I asked an officer what was going on and he said there was no risk to the public but someone had been seriously injured, they said it was just an individual incident though.'

A man working in nearby ScS Sofas said: 'There has been a heavy police presence in the area all day, they have been walking around the area and generally chatting to public.

'Lots of people have said there had been a stabbing but that they had heard it from someone else so it was probably just rumours.

'Whatever it was it must have been pretty serious for them to have closed the roads for so long, it was a nightmare getting into work this morning.

'People have been coming in and asking if we knew what had happened but we had no idea either.

'I instantly thought it must have been a road accident seeing as they closed the roads.'

A lady taking her shopping from Asda said: 'I know there has been a man hurt but there hasn't been much else said on the matter.

'There is a lot of gossip about a stabbing but it could just be rumours with a lot of people speculating over what it could be and coming to their own conclusions.'

Two community support officers who were patrolling said a man had been seriously injured earlier today.

They said 'no comment' when asked if a man's penis had been chopped off.