Residents tell of sobs and screams

Residents say they heard screams for help, moaning and sobbing in a park where a couple were violently attacked early yesterday.

A 19-year-old man was found drifting in and out of consciousness in Starling Park, Ranui, in West Auckland, by a man walking his dog about 7am.

While police were dealing with the man, who was lying in pools of blood, a 17-year-old woman arrived at a nearby house asking for help.

Detective Sergeant Roger Small said the couple were seriously beaten, although police were still unsure who was responsible or what - if any - motive was behind the attack.

Mr Small said the man was taken to Auckland Hospital with significant head injuries including a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.

The woman, who had multiple facial fractures and severe bruising, was in Middlemore Hospital.

Several neighbouring residents said they had heard noises coming from Starling Park but either did not see anything or did not investigate.

One girl and her mother said they saw a young couple sitting on the swings in the park before they went to bed about 10pm. The girl said she was woken about 1.30am by a noise.

"The next minute I heard a faint scream and it sounded like a male, then I heard moaning and groaning. I could see two people down by the tree."

The girl's mother, who was also woken by a noise, said the moaning sounded like someone in pain.

She looked out the window towards the park, but could not see anything so she went back to bed.

The injured woman made her way to a nearby home.

"She just turned up on my back doorstep, knocked on my door and asked me to take her home," said a woman who only wanted to be known as Sharleen.

"She was covered in blood from her head to toe. Our back table was covered in blood so she may have been sitting there for a while."

One of the woman's eyes was swollen shut and her ear was damaged. She appeared to be disoriented and kept asking to go home.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Mr Small on 839-0653.