A PEDESTRIAN who was knocked down during a night out is fighting for his life.

Michael Welsby, aged 20, is suffering from swelling to the brain and he may have to undergo a second operation.

Mr Welsby had been returning from a shop to a friend's house in Tonge Moor when he was struck by a Citroen Dispatch van on Tonge Moor Road.

Mr Welsby was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital with a serious fracture to the skull following the accident, which happened close to the junction of Firwood Grove at 9pm on Saturday.

He was transferred to Salford Hope Hospital for an emergency operation on his brain, before being transferred to the Royal Preston Hospital where he remains in a critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Former Sharples School pupil Michael lives with parents Brian and Gillian Welsby, in Blenheim Road, Breightmet.

His father Michael said: "He was just round at a mate's house, probably playing on the computer and having a few drinks, the same as any young lad.

"We heard that he was conscious and talking to the paramedics after the accident, but he has been unconscious since.

"He was due to be woken up yesterday, but doctors called us to say the swelling in his brain is not going down as well as it should and he may have to have another operation."