POLICE are still mystified how a pensioner came to be suffering from severe injuries at the side of a road in Burnley.

Extensive inquiries by police have so far failed to find the answer to why Leonard Rostron, 69, came to suffer serious internal injuries.

Mr Rostron, of Sedburgh Street, Burnley, is in intensive care at Burnley General Hospital where his condition is described as stable but poorly.

He was admitted on Monday after being found at 12.30 to 1am on a grassed area next to Marsden Road. Surgeons carried out an emergency operation to remove his spleen.

The Good Samaritan who took him home has responded to a Press appeal and contacted police this morning and is being interviewed.

Police are also following up a report of a damaged car seen in the area. House-to-house inquiries have also been carried out.

Det Sgt Graham Briggs said it was not known whether Mr Rostron was the victim of an attack, a hit-and-run accident or a fall. "We cannot rule out anything at this stage,'' he said. Mr Rostron has five sons and three daughters. Two of his sons, Derek and Paul, are flying from America, where they have been working.

His other sons, Sean, Leonard Junior and Brent, along with their sisters, Georgina, Andrea and Sharon, have been with their mother, Vera, at the hospital since their father was admitted.

Before he retired, Mr Rostron last worked as a taxi driver. He was previously employed at the local Michelin factory and for some years he also worked as a postman.

Sean said: "Dad is well-known and well-liked in the area. I saw the young man who brought him home, but I don't know him. We are not exactly sure where dad was found or what happened to him.

"He told us he had not been attacked. He said he remembered reaching Marsden Road and doubling up with pain. But he also said he couldn't remember what happened.

"At first we thought he had been attacked. Now it seems he may have been the victim of a hit-and-run. It is like a puzzle.''

Sean added: "At the moment all we are concentrating on is for dad to be well again. We have not had time to be angry.''

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