The storm over a stabbing outside a Croydon games store that was selling Grand Theft Auto IV may have been a media panic.

Early reports suggested that a 23 year-old man was stabbed by a hooded man waiting with 100 others in line outside GameStation store in Croydon, which began selling the controversial game at midnight.

But it has since emerged that the stabbing did not take place outside the store and had nothing to do with the people queuing for the popular game.

"The victim had categorically not pre-ordered the game, and GameStation is confident that he was not a GameStation customer. Neither was he part of the queue outside the Croydon store," a source told the GamesRadar blog.

The source also said that the stabbing did not occur outside the store, but a quarter of a mile away outside East Croydon station.

Police have described the attacker as a light skinned black man aged about 21, 6ft 5in tall, of medium build wearing a light grey hooded top.

The victim is recovering in hospital.