Two people have been arrested after an attack in Manchester city centre left a man fighting for his life.

Police were called to Deansgate near its junctions with John Dalton Street and Bridge Street at around 4.15am this morning.

Officers found a man in his mid-30s suffering from a serious head injury. He was taken to Salford Royal hospital where his condition is described as "critical".

3PM UPDATE:

Detectives now believe the victim was punched during a row with another man in the early hours, and that the offender then climbed into a white Volkswagen Polo. The car has since been recovered.

Bridge Street remains closed between Deansgate and King Street West, near Sainsbury's while officers carry out their forensic examination of the scene.

A man and a woman, both from Baguley in Wythenshawe, have been arrested on suspicion of section 18 assault and are now being interviewed in custody.

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Detective Superintendent Serena Kennedy, of GMP’s major incident team, said: “This incident is only a few hours old but we are already building up a picture of what may have happened.

“However, we still need to hear from any witnesses that we have not yet spoken to. If you saw some kind of disturbance in the run-up to this incident then please call us.

“It’s quite possible that the offender or any witnesses didn’t know how seriously injured the victim was. However, his injuries are genuinely life threatening so this is extremely serious.

“It is natural that shoppers, residents and people who work in the city centre will be concerned about this, but I want to reassure them that millions of people use our city centre every year and that serious incidents like this are unusual.

“There will be a high profile police operation tonight which is designed to reassure people coming to the city that they can have a safe and enjoyable time this weekend.”

(Image: Paul Jackson (@PLJackson2))

Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 4711 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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