Wairoa man found with head injuries

File photo / NZ Herald

A 19-year-old Wairoa man has been found lying near a park in the town with serious head injuries.

Police and ambulance staff were called to the corner of Lucknow and Mansfield streets, in the northern Hawke's Bay town, about 10.30am today after a member of the public found the man lying beside a ditch.

He had earlier been seen wandering along the road in a disorientated and distressed state.

He was taken to Wairoa Hospital and then Hawke's Bay Regional Hospital, where he was in intensive care in an induced coma this afternoon.

"At this stage we are unsure how the man received his injuries," said Detective Sergeant Steve Smith, of Gisborne CIB.

"We have a team of staff working on the investigation and we hope to ascertain exactly what happened to the victim and who was responsible."

Police were keeping an open mind as to whether the man had been assaulted or if he had been involved in an accident of some sort.

Mr Smith said police were keen to speak to anyone who had noticed any suspicious or unusual activity in the area this morning, particularly near the Lambton Square Memorial Park.

There was no indication the incident was gang-related, he said.

Earlier this month, nearly two dozen Wairoa Mongrel Mob members and associates were arrested after the shooting of two other members in a gang leadership dispute.

- NZPA