A MAN has been arrested following a street attack which left another man fighting for his life.

Charlie Anderson from Crown Grove in Norton suffered head injuries during an incident outside the Total garage in Church Street at around midnight on Saturday night.

Paramedics took the injured man to York Hospital and it was medics there who called police at 3am due to his “life threatening injuries”.

Doctors at Hull Royal Infirmary, where he is now being treated, have since moved the 44-year-old from the critical list.

Police have revealed they arrested a 21-year-old from Norton yesterday (Tuesday) morning on suspicion of assault. He has since been interviewed and released on police bail.

Now regulars at the George Hotel, where the injured man was a regular customer, have rallied round his family.

He lives at home with his elderly mother who is said to be extremely shaken by the attack.

Barman Karl Todd said: “We are all really fond of Charlie and we are all thinking about him. He’s a regular customer in here and he doesn’t deserve anything bad to happen to him. Everybody knows him as a loveable kind of guy and he has got a lot of friends here and in the rest of the town.”

Just over a fortnight ago two people were stabbed on County Bridge only 100 yards away from the scene of the latest attack.

Two people were arrested shortly after the previous stabbing and a man from Malton was later charged with two counts of wounding with intent.

Now police are keen to reassure members of the public, who insist that a knife was not used in the attack over the weekend.

Ryedale commander, Inspector Tim Hutchinson, said violent crime had reduced by a third in Norton over the past year.

He said: “These types of incidents are comparatively rare in the Malton area. This latest assault, although very serious, is very much out of the ordinary for the area. “The local safer neighbourhood teams have stepped up evening patrols in the area and work regularly with local pubs, targeting routes home to ensure anti-social behaviour is kept to a minimum.

“Ryedale remains one of the safest places to live in the country.”

Police are scouring CCTV footage and on Sunday Church Street was cordoned off while forensic teams combed the crime scene.

Howard Keal, one of Norton’s representatives on Ryedale District Council, said: “This is unbelievable and deeply shocking. To have had one serious injury incident is bad enough, but to have had another within the space of a fortnight is deeply worrying.

“It’s quite incredible that in what is one of the lowest crime areas in the country we have had this mayhem in such a short space of time.

“We now desperately need a period of calm so that there is no chain reaction. This is one of the safest areas of the country and that is how we want it to remain.”

Anyone with any information about the incident over the weekend is urged to contact North Yorkshire Police on 0845 60 60 247.