A man is in hospital with a broken skull after a vicious late-night attack.

The man, in his 30s, was attacked by a group of men who beat him so badly they smashed his skull.

The drunken street brawl took place in the early hours of Sunday morning in Worthing.

Two groups of men had been drinking throughout the evening in Club Seven beneath the Burlington Hotel on Marine Parade.

Trouble broke out later in the evening when the two groups had left the venue.

By the time police intervened, the fight had moved to Shakespeare Road.

One man was seriously injured in the attack, which police described as prolonged.

Detective Sergeant Colin O'Hare, who is leading the investigation into the attack, said: "We were called to an altercation between two groups of males in Marine Parade, Worthing, outside the Burlington Hotel at 1.25am on June 29.

"There were verbal exchanges outside the hotel before the groups left the area.

But soon after it is understood they reconvened and a fight took place.

"As a result, one male received serious head injuries in the form of a fractured skull and suspected bleeding on the brain."

DS O'Hare said he believed the man's attackers had beaten him with their fists, but that he was not ruling out the use of weapons.

The man was taken to Worthing Hospital and later moved to the intensive care unit at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath where doctors described his condition as stable.

One witness, who lives in Wordsworth Road, behind the hotel, said she was woken up by an argument in the early hours of the morning.

She said: "There was a lot of shouting in the street. They were yelling so loud they woke me up despite me having my windows closed.

"It was like any other argument.

You get woken up quite a lot by people drunk. There were two groups, one of two people and the other with a few more.

"One man was quite loud and was shouting at the other group but I don't know why.

They didn't really respond.

"Then they disappeared and the next thing I know the police have come round and told me someone's in hospital with a broken skull.

"It's terrifying the things people do when they're drunk."

Sussex Police arrested two men in their 30s. They have both been questioned and released on bail pending further inquiries.

Police are now examining CCTV footage and are appealing for witnesses to the attack.

Anyone who saw or heard anything in the Marine Parade, Wordsworth Road and Shakespeare Road area between 1.15am and 2am on Sunday, June 29, should contact Worthing CID on 0845 6070999.