A MAN who was today fighting for his life after falling down stairs at a block of flats has been identified as former houseboat owner John Hunt.

The popular postman, who hit the headlines after being evicted from his houseboat on the River Ouse, was still in a critical condition in York Hospital following the accident in Horsman Avenue, off Fishergate.

Police said he was found at the bottom of some communal stairs in the block of flats where he lives. He fell after leaving the flat of a friend, and fellow residents called an ambulance when they discovered him.

Mr Hunt was relocated to Horsman Avenue with the help of Age Concern after City of York Council forced him to move his boat, Waterlily, from its mooring on the River Ouse, near St George's Field.

Judge Paul Hunt, sitting at York County Court, issued the council with a possession order on the St George's Field site.

Mr Hunt, a postman, who had been on sick leave at the time of his eviction, was given temporary permission to moor his 57ft 50-ton vessel near Skeldergate Bridge, in July 1998. He subsequently received a number of notices asking him to vacate the site.

James Player, Age Concern's deputy chief officer in York, who became friends with Mr Hunt after helping him to relocate, said he was very shocked at the news.

"I'm very concerned to hear that he has had a serious accident and I wish him all the best," he said.

A York police spokeswoman confirmed the identity of Mr Hunt.

She said police would like to speak to anyone who knew of his movements before he was found, and particularly if he had been in any pubs in the Fishergate area.

"There doesn't appear to be any suspicious circumstances at this time," she said.

Updated: 10:12 Friday, April 09, 2004