A MAN has been left with serious head injuries after an assault in a Harrogate pub garden.

The victim - a local man in his 50s - was hurt in the garden behind Wetherspoons Royal Baths pub on Parliament Street, at about 7.30pm last night.

Police say he was punched to the ground, and paramedics treated him at the scene before he was was taken to Harrogate District Hospital, where his condition is now described as critical.

The pub was cleared after the assault while detectives and crime scene investigators examined the area.

A 43-year-old man from York also needed treatment for facial injuries after being assaulted at the same place, and he is now helping police with their investigation.

Now officers say that extensive enquiries are going on to find out exactly what happened, and to find the man they think is responsible for the assaults.

The suspect they want to find is described as white, in his mid-40s, medium build, with a bald head and short hair around the sides. He was wearing a dark-grey, long-sleeved jumper.

Customers inside the busy pub had to leave the premises at about 8.30pm.

Witnesses or anyone with information that could assist the investigation or help locate the suspect, are urged to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for Harrogate CID; or to call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 12140189150.