A WARRINGTON man is in a serious but stable condition after collapsing outside the Sankey Arms public house on New Year's Eve.

William Eaves, who is 38, came out of the Dorchester Road pub just before midnight and moments later collapsed with a massive brain haemorrhage.

He was taken to Warrington Hospital and was later transferred to the Walton Centre for Neurology on Merseyside for an emergency operation to reduce the pressure on his brain.

Mr Eaves was involved in a commotion in the pub prior to the incident, which spilled out on to the street, but police are still interviewing witnesses to find out what happened before he collapsed.

A spokeswoman for Cheshire Police said: "Whether the brain haemorrhage was the result of the fall or whether it caused the fall will be up to the doctors to determine.

"At this stage we still don't know how he got his injuries but they happened outside the pub."

Mr Eaves' identity was not discovered until Tuesday, when his relatives came forward after appeals on the radio.

As the GUARDIAN went to press, Mr Eaves' condition had improved and he had been moved out of intensive care.

If anyone who was in the Sankey Arms between 6pm and 1am on New Year's Eve has any information, they should call Warrington Police on 652222.