Cleveland Man Badly Injured in Sydney

A Cleveland man is fighting for his life after being found lying in the middle of a street in Sydney with a fractured skull and broken ribs.

The parents of Daniel Moore who's 21 are flying to Australia to be at his bedside as police attempt to discover what happened to him.

Officers found him in the road suffering from severe injuries, including internal bleeding, in the northern suburb of Manly early on Sunday morning.

He was taken to Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital, where his condition was described as critical.

New South Wales Police are appealing for the driver of a taxi seen in the area at the time to contact them.

Mr Moore, from Marske-by-the-Sea, Redcar, Cleveland, had been living in Manly, whose beaches and bars make it popular with surfers and backpackers.

It is believed he had been in Australia for about two years and may have been saving up to visit the Indonesian island of Bali, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Inspector Bob Bell, from Manly police, told the paper: ``It's a bit of a mystery. We're following a certain line of inquiry. He's the one bloke who can throw light on the whole thing... we haven't been able to speak to him because of his condition.''

Mr Moore's parents are expected to arrive in Australia on Wednesday morning.