A MAN is fighting for his life after being found unconscious with head injuries close to a Blackburn park.

The local man was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital after being found on the corner of Preston New Road and Shear Bank Road, close to Corporation Park, at around 6.55am yesterday.

The 33-year-old was later transferred to Royal Preston Hospital for specialist treatment, where he was in a critical condition yesterday afternoon, police said.

It remains unclear how he was injured, and police have appealed for witnesses to come forward.

Inspector Des Barr said: “We are treating the incident as suspicious, although everything is pointing to it not being.” A police spokesman later added: “It’s unclear how the man came by his injuries and it could be the result of a fall or an assault. We are appealing for witnesses.”

The man was spotted by a passing motorist, who stopped to help before calling the emergency services.

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A spokeswoman for the North West Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 6.54am to reports of an unconscious male in the road.” The man was treated by hospital staff, who called police at 10am after becoming concerned as to how the man got his injuries.

Police tape was still stretched across the wet pavement at around 2pm, while an officer sat in a nearby squad car guarding the scene, but it had gone by 5pm.

A worker from the Blackburn School of Music, across the road from the scene, said the business was closed when the man was found, but said she had seen police carrying out inquiries in the area.

She added: “I saw a cordon when I came to work at noon. There was a CCTV van there in the afternoon too.”

Witnesses can call police on 101, quoting log number 0357 of Wednesday, June 4.