Four men arrested after 'callous' Smallthorne attack
Four men have been arrested in connection with an attack on a 60-year-old man in Stoke-on-Trent.
Leonard Holmes sustained head and facial injuries in the assault in Smallthorne, at about 01:00 BST on Saturday.
Three men from Stoke-on-Trent, aged 20, 23 and 24, and a 20-year-old from Newcastle-under-Lyme, remain in custody on suspicion of assault.
Mr Holmes is in a critical but stable condition in hospital, police said.
Staffordshire Police appealed for information about the attack, which happened in Brownley Road, at the junction with Community Drive.
"This was a callous attack on a local man making his way home after a family night out," Ch Insp Adrian Roberts said.
High-visibility police patrols would continue in the coming days to reassure the local community, the force said.