POLICE investigating a fight outside a pub which left a father critically ill held a high-profile operation to find more witnesses.

Lee Massey, 30, suffered serious head injuries when he was struck by a vehicle during the fracas in the car park of the Royal Hotel on Huddersfield Road, Ravensthorpe, last Sunday.

Police stopped almost 1,000 vehicles driving past the pub yesterday.

Mr Massey, who has a three-year-old daughter, remains critically ill at Leeds General Infirmary today.

Two men were stabbed during the trouble and were allowed home from hospital last week.

The fight involved a group of white men and a group of Iraqi men.

Five men were arrested and later released on police bail pending further inquiries.

Det Supt Allan Doherty, who is leading the investigation, said: "We carried out the information seek between 4pm and 6pm yesterday.

"Following on from this we have identified a further 24 separate lines of inquiry and took two important statements from witnesses.

"We will be following the other lines of inquiry up today."

He said he wanted to apologise to people caught up in yesterday's queues.

"It was essential to the inquiry to carry out this work," he said.

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