TWO men are being quizzed by detectives probing a road rage attack which left a pedestrian fighting for his life in hospital.

The two men, who are in their 30s, were arrested after detectives swooped on homes in the Halliwell and Heaton areas of Bolton at 6am today.

The dawn swoop was carried out as 52-year-old Malcolm Steele was still clinging to life on a ventilator in the intensive care unit at Salford's Hope Hospital. Mr Steele, of Kendrew Road, Bolton, was attacked on Tuesday night after he stepped out in front of a van in Chorley Street, Bolton, forcing the driver to brake.

One of the men then jumped out of the van and punched Mr Steele in the face. Mr Steele suffered a heart attack, and fell to the ground banging his head on the pavement.

He underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain yesterday and was described as "extremely poorly" by a spokesman at the hospital this lunchtime.

A large police hunt was mounted for the men involved who drove away from the scene in a white van leaving Mr Steele on the pavement. Police officers yesterday stopped and questioned motorists in Chorley Street, near the junction with Dawson Lane, in a bid to track down the men involved.

The two men being questioned today are a 30-year-old man from Halliwell and a 33-year-old from Heaton.

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