THE victim of an attempted murder in York has finally come out of his coma, six weeks after he was brutally attacked.

Dominic Conlan, 56, had been left fighting for his life with severe head injuries after he was beaten up in his flat in The Groves.

Police now face an anxious wait to see whether the former businessman will become well enough to be able to identify his attackers.

News of his improving condition came as police made a 12th arrest in connection with the assault and recovered a stolen laptop computer, seen as potentially vital evidence in the case.

Police said yesterday that over the weekend they arrested a 21-year-old man from York in connection with the attack, which happened in March Street, on January 8. He has been questioned by police and released on bail as inquiries continue.

North Yorkshire Police confirmed yesterday Mr Conlan’s condition had improved and said he had come out of his coma, but he remains in Leeds General Infirmary and is currently still unable to communicate with police.

Detective Inspector Adrian Gathercole, of York CID, said: “We continue to make every effort to establish what happened to Dominic Conlan, who is still unable to speak to us and tell us who attacked him in his own flat.

“As a result of previous appeals we have received some good information which has led to the recovery of the laptop computer stolen from Mr Conlan’s home.”

He said it was clear a number of people were at Mr Conlan’s home on the night, and said his attacker came from that group.

He said: “We still need to establish exactly who was responsible for inflicting his horrific injuries and I am urging anyone who has any information that can help us, to get in touch with the police as soon as possible.

“In particular if you have spoken to anyone who you believe was present at the time, or has mentioned the attack to you, then I would like to hear from you.” Officers are still trying to locate a white and green tracksuit which they believe was worn by someone involved in the attempted murder and later discarded.

All 12 people arrested in the case have now been released on police bail.

Anyone with information is asked to phone police on 0845 6060247, quoting reference 1210003728, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.