Thugs pounce on man outside pub

A man in his 50s was left for dead when he was felled by two punches in broad daylight in Oldham.

It happened in Littlemoor Lane on Saturday lunchtime, and led to a major police incident as his head injuries seemed likely to prove fatal.

However, the man recovered enough to leave hospital briefly yesterday.

Two men were arrested. One was charged with causing grievous bodily harm and was due to appear at Oldham Magistrates’ Court this morning. The other was released after a police caution for a public order offence.

The man was spotted being abused by two men as he walked down a footpath at the side of the Carrion Crow pub, off Huddersfield Road, about noon.

As he reached the junction of Littlemoor Lane and Shrewsbury Street, neighbours said there was an argument and one of the men punched him in the head.

A neighbour said: “He went down and started to get up again but he hit him again and he went out cold. When he was on the ground he was almost hit by a car coming down the road, but the driver stopped and put her car across the road to protect him.

“I went across to help and my son rang for the ambulance.

“The man was trying to get up but his condition had gone worse, blood was pouring from his mouth.

“Both men had run off, and then he started coming round and trying to get up but he was all wobbly.

“We told him the ambulance was on its way and he started struggling again.”

Another neighbour, Patricia Banham, of Littlemoor Lane, was getting ready for her 45th wedding anniversary party, when she saw a group of people in the road and the ambulance.

She said: “It was chaos because everywhere was taped off until tea-time.

“The injured man was fighting as they tried to put him into the ambulance. There were forensic people with white coats on and cones in the road protecting blood stains.”

Det Chief Insp Chris Bridge, of Oldham CID, said: “The condition of the man has improved, but was at first thought to be a serious head injury.

“He has now spoken to us, and went back to hospital yesterday.”