Wellington, June 30 NZPA - A 29-year-old man stabbed himself in the neck while being sentenced for possession of child pornography in the Wellington District Court today.

Inspector Mike Coleman said emergency services responded to a call from the court about 1pm.

The man had apparently stabbed himself in the neck with a knife while being sentenced in court room 2, he said.

"He walked in off the street -- he was remanded on bail, so he was free to come and go," Mr Coleman told NZPA.

Initially assessed as being in critical condition, the man's physical condition was now stable.

After he was patched up, he would probably have a psychiatric assessment, Mr Coleman said.

NZPA understood the man was being sentenced for 32 charges of possessing objectionable material.

Film footage on TV3's website showed an overweight, shirtless man being led by police and paramedics from the court house to an ambulance, covered in blood and clutching his neck.

Wellington District Court manager Peter Bachelor confirmed a man had been taken to hospital with a self-inflicted wound he had given himself while in the courtroom.

The man had name suppression, Mr Bachelor said.

Metal detectors standing beside one of the doors into the court were not being used.

Wellington Hospital spokesman Michael Tull confirmed a man was brought in from court with a neck wound.

The man was "medically stable" and was being treated for the neck wound in the hospital's emergency department, he said.

The injury was not believed to be life-threatening.

It was not yet known if the man would be admitted to the hospital.