A 21-YEAR-OLD Accrington man has today been arrested in Hertfordshire in connection with an attack which left a father-of-two seriously injured.

Naveed Ahmed, of Fountain Place, was arrested at 7.45am in Hemel Hempstead and was being transferred to Accrington police station for questioning.

Police had earlier this week taken the unusual step of releasing a photograph of Ahmed and naming him so they could trace and question him about an attack on 33-year-old Dennis Shaw.

Mr Shaw, of Kingston Avenue, Accrington, suffered head and facial injuries in the attack outside Imran and Nathan's Snooker and Leisure Club, in Richmond Road, Accrington, on Saturday August 3.

He had been kicked and punched unconscious and was taken to the Royal Preston Hospital after a passer-by found him groaning on the ground and phoned for an ambulance.

Detective Sergeant Mark Rothwell, of Accrington CID, today said: "Naveed Ahmed was arrested at an address in Hemmel Hempstead this morning and will be taken to Accrington police station later today for questioning."

Mr Shaw, who lives with his partner Jennifer Wilson, 33, was put on a ventilator in the the intensive care unit at Royal Preston Hospital after the attack but has now been transferred to Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn where his head injuries are being further assessed.

A hospital spokesperson today said the father-of-two, who has relatives living in Blackburn, was stable.