A 37-year-old man trying to help a younger man who was being beaten up was hospitalised at the weekend after also being attacked by a group with a plank and bed head, police say.
Senior Sergeant Fred van Duuren said the first victim, a man in his 20s, was attacked after
speaking to a group of two to six people about 4am on Sunday in the Kelvin Road area of Maraenui, a Napier suburb. When the older man intervened, he too was set upon by the group, who appeared to be carrying a ``length of timber and, strangely enough, a bedhead'', Mr Van Duuren said.
``It appears that a person walking on the street spoke with a small group of people and as a result of something was assaulted. He had been drinking and he could have been a bit lippy, but I just don't know...Someone came along to assist him and he was also set upon,'' he said.
While the first victim escaped with cuts and bruises, his would-be helper received more serious injuries and was taken to hospital. However, he was discharged on Sunday, a Hawke's Bay Hospital spokeswoman said.
There was a lot of blood on the footpath after the incident, Mr van Duuren said.
Police inquiries were continuing.
